Just a Small Fry
by geekysoundcat
Summary: A recent incident has brought twins Quinn and Charlotte Fabray to Ohio in the middle of the year. Starting out in a new place is a difficult task particularly when your life has gone through upheaval. Quinn never really had much of a chance at a normal childhood. Will starting at a new school and meeting one Rachel Berry give her that chance.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee. Sniff… sniff.. let us mourn the loss of such a beautiful fantasy.

**Author's Note: **In this story there will be a girl on girl relationship, you know, femslash. As in two girls will be in a sexual relationship. If this offends you then please don't read it and don't write insulting hate mail on my reviews because that's just pointless… and annoying. It's why warnings like this go up. For those of you who are reading my other story and wouldn't read this one because of the above reason then I'm sorry. Please don't stop reading my other story simply because of that.

I will try to keep most of the characters similar to how they are within the actual show, however for this to be my own fic things will obviously change. Quinn in particular will be a bit different. The reasons why will become obvious as the fic progresses. Anyway, the story will be starting in Glee season one or half way through it, around episode 14. I thought it would be a good place to start. Some things will be different from the original show because Quinn will only be entering McKinley during this episode, as in she never attended there before. But, I'll find a way to keep most of it cannon.

Also, and don't shoot me for this people, you'll see why it's necessary, I made Quinn a year younger then she is in the original Glee. Please don't be mad. I had to! I also wanted to, but mostly I had to!

'Fishing' - Normal

_**'**_**Fishing**_**' - **_Other (Just incase something else comes up.)

_'Fishing'_ - Thoughts and Dreams

**Chapter 1:**

Quinn followed silently behind her chattering sister, scuffing the bottom of her converse on the floor as she walked. She noticed a small pebble lying on the floor and timed her walk so that she kicked it mid step straight into the back of her sister's shoe. She'd hoped it would end Charlotte's endless talking, but it just seemed to set her off along a different route of noise.

"Quinn!" she rebuked. "I know your nervous, but that doesn't mean you can kick stones at my feet."

"I'm not nervous," she muttered into the material of her hoodie too quiet for her sister to hear. Well, she assumed her sister didn't hear given the fact that she was still continuing her never ending speech.

"I get that it's your first day and that it's a new experience, but-"

"I'm beginning to think you're the nervous one," she interrupted raising her normally quiet voice above whisper volume and this time Charlotte heard her.

Charlotte glared, "I'm not nervous!"

Quinn raised an eyebrow, "Yes, you are."

"I am not!" she declared.

"Excited?" she asked, deciding it was safer not to argue with her minutes younger twin.

"Uh… well I suppose I am," she said after a moment of thought. "After all, Sue Sylvester is the cheerleading captain at this school! She has led her cheerleading team to so many victories at nationals. I mean I've heard that she's evil. Like really evil. Evil enough to be the ruler of hell. But, I really doubt that all the rumours are true. People often exaggerate such things. Still, I hope I can get on the team. It would just be beyond awesome!"

Quinn had no idea how she even knew who the school's coach was, but wasn't going to interrupt the her sister's fantasy induced silence to ask. Unfortunately for her it was short lived. Quinn mourned it's passing.

"You really should join too Quinn, I mean your gymnastics is so good if Ms. Sylvester found out what you could do she would-"

"No."

"-n't stop until she got you on her team. You did make the-"

"No," Quinn said slightly louder and Charlotte stopped.

She sighed despondently, "Sometimes I wonder if we're related… well, until I look in the mirror that is."

Quinn nodded her head. They were identical twins and looked almost exactly the same.

"Of course that always makes me feel better," she sighed in mock bliss. "Reminds me that I have the bigger breasts."

"I'm taller," Quinn pointed out as her only response. She didn't really mind the fact that Charlotte did in fact have a slightly bigger cup size, but it was fun getting her sister riled up.

"It's an inch! A freaking inch!" she fumed.

"Two."

"No, no, no, no! It's one!" Charlotte argued.

It was actually closer to two, but Quinn only brought it up because she thought it was funny to push her sister's buttons. She had a quick, if harmless, temper.

She almost laughed at the look on her sister's face until she realised that during the midst of their arguing they'd arrived at the gates of their destination, William McKinley High School. Heaving a sigh she tapped her sister on the shoulder and pointed up at the sign that was above their heads. A sign that should have evoked her nerves about starting at a new school. She was mildly surprised it didn't.

Charlotte, however, wasn't so fortunate. Quinn both saw and heard her sister gulping as she stared up at the sign.

"It'll be alright Char," she said quietly, raising her hand and squeezing her sister's shoulder comfortingly.

Charlotte smiled at her sister in thanks. Taking a deep breath she shook her head slightly hoping to rid herself of the nerves that had been plaguing her since she'd woken up that morning. It didn't work, but it did help with getting herself together. She wasn't going to let nerves stop her.

With another deep breath she squared her shoulders and marched into the school, Quinn trailing silently behind.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Quinn wasn't happy that she'd had to split up with her sister, but they had different schedules. Very different schedules. In fact that were in different years. Something that Quinn had often found upsetting, especially now. It made keeping her sister safe a lot harder.

She sometimes blamed her father, though she knew it was her own choice in the end.

It had been obvious from a young age that Quinn had more than excelled academically. Something her teacher's had picked up on during middle school and pointed out to her parents. They'd recommended she be attend an advanced placement school.

Her father in particular had been adamant about it. He was always going on about her being a doctor or a lawyer. Personally she'd rather shoot herself in the foot before she became a lawyer. A doctor… maybe.

She hadn't wanted to leave her sister and said she was fine with not moving up. But, her father hadn't left it alone.

He'd pushed and pushed until she'd caved. A few months and several tests later and they'd had her in a different school in a different grade. This year she was actually supposed to be finishing up her senior year back home, but certain... incidents had worked against them.

When she'd moved and they'd had to change schools she asked to be placed in junior year instead of senior year. Her mother had reluctantly agreed and now she was a junior when her age dictated she should be a freshman. She was just glad that she wasn't a late bloomer, then she'd really be fucked. Although, she supposed that hiding herself in an extremely oversized hoodie didn't exactly give her an air of maturity.

Her sister said she looked like a homeless person. Her mother said she looked a squeezable teddy bear.

She prayed they were both wrong.

Glaring at the schedule in front of her she shoved it into the pockets of said hoodie and headed off to her Physics class.

When she reached the door she paused and waited for the nerves to hit. Still, nothing. She frowned slightly and wondered if her little nerve machine was broken. She smiled slightly at her little joke before staring at the door handle again. She wondered if she would've stared at the handle for the entire lesson if it wasn't for someone bumping into her back. It clearly wasn't a very big someone because she didn't even stumble, though she did hear the sound of them falling to the floor.

Turning round lazily she found the petite brown haired culprit sprawled out on the floor, a pink bag with wheels lying next to her.

She was wearing a little sweater with an owl on it. And a short skirt. A really short skirt that gave Quinn a flash of underwear.

Lacy underwear.

She blinked several times before saying the first thing that came to mind, which was perhaps not her smartest idea, "You're wearing red underwear."

The girl gasped and quickly climbed to her feet. She looked like she was desperately trying to refrain herself from slapping Quinn senseless.

"How dare you!" she cried, poking Quinn quite hard in the chest.

For once Quinn wished she had bigger boobs to guard her against the assault.

"How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!" she shouted punctuating each repetition with another poke to the chest. Quinn was sure she had a bruise. "You filthy little pervert! DId you get good peak! I have it in my right mind to report you! I have connections you know! I have connections! Just be grateful that I'm a forgiving person or I'd have you rotting in jail for the rest of your natural life!"

And with that she marched away mumbling under her breath, leaving Quinn standing there dumbfounded with a bruise on her chest. She wondered if she'd just imagined the whole incident or if it had really happened, because it hardly seemed normal. In fact it seemed completely insane.

_For such a beautiful girl she sure has a temper… and slightly unstable mental health, _she thought.

"Little firecracker," she mumble under her breath.

Deciding she was best just ignoring the whole incident she turned around and entered the class - it was a bit late too get into a one-sided staring contest with the door handle.

Entering the classroom she was happy that only a couple of people looked at her for a moment before going back to their conversations. It was certainly better then the whole class going silent and staring at her. That would suck.

Spotting a chair at the back of the classroom she wondered over and plopped into her seat, dropping her bag down beside her. She dug through it until she found a usable pen and her notebook before putting them on the desk and waiting for the teacher to walk in. Crossing her arms on the desk she rested her head on them and closed her eyes. She was tired.

Her body was aching from the work out her new coach had given her. Her old coach from back home just outside of Montreal had recommended the woman. He'd failed to mention that the old Russian lady took sadistic joy in making her suffer. The woman had managed to wear through the callouses on her hands enough to make them bleed when she'd had her working on bar. She'd thought she was going to die. Die right there on the mats with no one other then the evil woman to witness her passing.

Even the ice bath she'd taken that night hadn't helped with the pain.

Now she was just exhausted.

She was actually close to falling asleep when she heard the sound of a loud voice that silenced the rest of the class. Looking up sleepily she realised it was the teacher, a small man with glasses perched on the end of his nose. Quinn was actual quite surprised that such a loud voice had come from such a small body. Then she remembered the small girl outside and decided that it was best not to pass judgement.

She just hoped he didn't make her stand up and introduce herself.

Rubbing her eyes she sat up in her seat and grabbed her pen getting ready to take notes.

"Morning Class," he greeted.

"Mornin'," they mumbled back.

He noticed Quinn in the back and gave her a small nod, but didn't ask her to introduce herself. She felt eternally grateful, she didn't think her leg muscles could take it. She even forgave the fact that they were learning something she'd already learnt back home. Though the little nerd in her heart meant she wrote down everything he taught anyway.

She hoped not every class was like that.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

By lunch she hadn't had a single lesson to dissuade her from that notion. They were learning material she already knew. It was dull.

But, expected. She was basically learning material she'd already done. Technically she already had enough credit to leave school, but she wasn't ready for that yet.

Leaving the calculus classroom she was glad she spotted her sister straight away because she hadn't had a chance to learn the schedule yet and wouldn't be able to find her otherwise. She was busy opening her locker and Quinn could tell she was happy. The way she bounced on her toes gave it away. She always did that when she was in a good mood.

Quickly crossing the busy corridor she lent on the locker next to her sister and smiled slightly at the happy look on her face.

"Good mood?" she said questioningly.

"Yes!" she said happily. "Ms. Sylvester saw my performance in gym and said a could try out after school for the Cheerios. I mean she was quite rude about it," she said with a little frown before brightening up again, "but still, she said I could try out Quinn!"

"Cheerio?"

"Sorry, that's what they call the cheerleaders here," she explained.

Quinn wondered why they were named after a breakfast cereal.

"Awesome," she said with a smile giving her a quick hug.

"I know right! I just can't wait!"

"Got someone to sit with?" she asked, she didn't want her to sit alone.

Quinn would have offered to sit with her sister if she didn't have anyone to sit with, but she hoped that wasn't the case. It seemed like her sister had a chance to be popular and she knew what bullying could be like if you weren't on top. If he Charlotte hung out with her she could be risking that future popularity. Popularity that Charlotte needed. It would keep her safe.

"Yeah, some of the squad said I could sit with them. Hopefully when I try out I'll actually make it, but we'll have to wait and see. Oh there they are now," she said pointing out two girls standing by the lockers. "Talk later Quinn."

As she walked away Quinn observed the girls closely for any harmful intentions. Her sister could be quite oblivious to any ulterior motives. It was an endearing quality, but it also meant that Quinn had to make absolutely sure nobody was out to hurt her. Thankfully, she didn't sense any sort of covert hostility coming from the girls when they greeted her, so she decided that Charlotte would be okay.

Just to be safe though she watched her go down the corridor before heading off in the opposite direction.

She'd taken five steps when she witnessed a form of bullying she'd never seen before.

It was horrifying.

The small girl from earlier was standing by her locker pulling out her books and putting them in her bag when two large boys in a letterman jackets with drinks in their hands approached her. At first Quinn was confused about what they were doing going up to the small girl, until she saw them throw the drinks they were holding into her face.

"Have drink, loser!" they said as they said as they carried on past.

Quinn stared in disbelief.

There was no way people actually did that, _right?_

But, the evidence was staring her in the face as she watched the red and blue slushy start dripping from the girl's face onto her clothes. The girl didn't seem at all surprised and picked up her things quickly before hurrying off into a nearby bathroom.

Without thought Quinn followed, her protective instincts flaring. She'd always had a bad habit of helping out the David in a David versus Goliath situation.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Rachel entered the bathroom and sighed as she opened her bag and pulled out the slushy kit she always kept readily available. She'd hoped that winning Sectionals recently would get the number of slushy facials to lower in number, but it seemed that there victory did nothing to deter the never ending humiliation.

Moving towards a a sink she began to rinse her face off, removing the easiest parts before she'd have to move onto the more difficult stage.

She was just finishing off with getting it out off her hair when the bathroom door opened.

_Please don't be a Cheerio, _she thought desperately.

"You!" she cried when she saw it was that entered, recognising the _pervert _that had seen underwear.

"Sorry I-"

"You can't be in here," she interrupted. "This is a girls bathroom!"

She couldn't see the person's whole face because they had there hood up and the lighting put their face in the shadows, but they seemed to be confused about something.

"So?" asked the quiet voice.

"You're not a girl," she said, feeling slightly sorry for the poor boy, even if he had seen her underwear. _Perhaps he's a bit slow, _she thought. "You are boy," she sounded out slowly, "you cannot come in here it is not allowed."

The boy seemed absolutely confounded by what she was saying. He looked down at what he was wearing, then felt the hood that was on his head and seemed to nod to himself a bit.

Slowly pulling back the hood she was surprised at what the stranger revealed. A young beautiful face that most definitely belonged to a girl. Once Rachel had seen her face she quickly pulled the hood back up.

"Oh dear, I'm so terrible sorry. It's just that with the loose clothes that sort of hide whatever figure you may have and the hood that was up that hid your face I just assumed you were a boy. The lighting in particular contributed to the idea. It just completely threw your face into the shadows. I really should talk to Principal Figgins about that. I mean if I could mistake you for a boy then who knows what else could be happening. Which reminds me, I must apologise for my behaviour earlier. I thought you were a boy you see. If I'd known I would never have-"

"You okay?" Quinn asked, interrupting the speech. Though she was wondering how being a girl made a difference in the fact that she saw her underwear.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw what happened. You okay?" she repeated.

"Oh, I'm fine. This is quite a frequent occurrence here at McKinley. Nothing out of the ordinary, you become accustomed to it over time. I even have a prepared kit that I constantly take with me in case it is required. A spare set of clothes too," Rachel explained.

"Why?"

"Why what? Oh, you mean why is this a common occurrence?"

Quinn nodded.

"It just depends on your social standing on the high school food chain. You understand that right?"

Quinn nodded again.

"Well, me and my fellow glee club members aren't particularly high on the social ladder. Well, I should take that back. The glee club members who aren't cheerleaders or footballers are at the bottom of the McKinley social standings. But, I have faith in us and I'm sure we'll manage to break from that hold eventually. In the mean time we just have to make do," she explained.

That didn't sound particularly fun to Quinn, but she just shrugged her shoulders. She also wondered if Rachel always talked like that. It seemed like it took a lot of effort and energy.

"Not much of a talker are you?" asked Rachel as she continued with her tidying.

Quinn shrugged. She'd never been much of a talker. Her mother had described it by saying it was like trying to draw blood from a stone.

"Well, you must be a new student. I've never seen you here before. After all I would have attempted to recruit you for glee club if I had. I've previously gone through the yearbook and asked every student to join glee club. The results were not as promising as I'd been hoping for," she trailed off as she remembered the increased number of slushy facials that week.

_She's enthusiastic, _Quinn thought with a raised brow. _And lonely, _added a quieter voice in her mind.

"I apologise, I momentarily lost myself there, so are you a new student?" she asked as she gathered up her spare clothes and went into the stall to change.

Quinn nodded then realised Rachel couldn't see her from inside the stall. "Yes," she said.

"What's you name?"

"Quinn."

"Just Quinn. Are you a Madonna fan? I myself quite enjoy her music, though I admire what she stands for more then anything else. She really helped got the idea of feminism and being your own woman out-"

"Fabray," Quinn interrupted. She had a feeling this sister could go on longer then her sister. "Yours?"

"Rachel Berry," she introduced.

Quinn thought the name suited her.

"Quite a good name. Quinn Fabray… yes it has quite a nice ring to it, and what year are you currently in?" she asked.

She liked the way Rachel said her name.

"Junior," she replied after her ten second contemplation of Rachel and her name.

"Really, I thought you were younger, perhaps in my own year. I'm a sophomore incase you were wondering," she added for Quinn's benefit.

"No, I'm a Junior," she said deciding not to explain the fact that she should actually be a freshman. She just didn't have the energy to go through a long explanation. It would also require a lot of talking, something she wasn't fond of. Perhaps she'd explain another time.

It was silent for moment except for the rustle of clothing and for some reason the sound of that clothing lead her to think about Rachel's state of dress or lack there of. She felt heat concentrate on her face and knew she must be turning red. She was quiet surprised at where her thoughts had taken her, she wondered if she was attracted to Rachel. It seemed like she was, but she wasn't exactly sure. She'd never really been attracted to someone before. Perhaps she'd ask her sister later. Charlotte always seemed to know more about that then her.

She was shaken from her thoughts when Rachel's stall door opened and she bounced out, now wearing a grey skirt and another argyle sweater with some sort of cream and grey patterning on it. Quinn thought she looked adorable. A bit like a preschooler, but still adorable.

"You haven't left yet? I'd assumed by the silence that you had already taken your leave. Then again we did come to the conclusion earlier that you're not much of a talker. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised then," she said.

"I guess," Quinn replied with a shrug.

Rachel had just finished tidying up her things. Finished with her bag she spun round and looked at Quinn closely.

She looked her up and down and seemed to be sizing her up for something. It gave Quinn the urge to straighten out her clothes and look presentable. Well, she was sure the look would have if she ever reacted normally to anything. Instead she just stared straight back at Rachel and wondered what on earth she was going to put her through. There was something in those brown eyes that seemed to kick start a sort of survival instinct.

It gave her the urge to run.

To flee.

In fact she was sure she would have if she wasn't dead on her feet.

Rachel was now nodding her head to herself and Quinn wondered what disturbing conclusion she'd come to. She had a feeling she was about to find out. Moving forward quickly and giving Quinn no time to run, the small girl grabbed onto her wrist and dragged her along behind her.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked as she was hauled down the corridor.

"I've decided that you are going to join glee. We meet half an hour before school on Mondays and Wednesdays, stay after school for an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we meet at lunch break on Fridays. Fridays is also when we tend to do our performances in the auditorium, although we don't always do them then. You are coming with me and we are going to go and sit with the rest of the glee club for whatever remains of lunch break," she explained whilst pulling the complacent Quinn behind her.

"Twenty minutes."

"Excuse me?"

"Twenty minutes of lunch break left," Quinn said.

"Wow, that is the most you have said to me in one go," she exclaimed in amazement.

Quinn just mumbled something into her hoodie.

"Pardon?" asked Rachel when she couldn't make out what Quinn was saying.

"Why am I in glee?" she spoke up for Rachel to hear.

"Well, you don't seem like the type who has much to do in their spare time," said Rachel. Quinn frowned, _Do I really some off as that lazy?_ "And you didn't actually give me a negative answer when I implied you were in glee. Besides, you haven't managed to free yourself from my grasp yet and if you were really and truly against the idea believe me you have found a way."

_This girls really bossy, _she thought. Not that she actually minded, it took quite lot to get her temper going, and she found the girls bossy nature to be cute, in a weird kind of way.

She sighed. She may as well do it. From the sounds of things it wouldn't interfere with her gymnastics training, though it would remove the hour she usually took after school to nap. _And I do love my afternoon naps, _she thought. But, this girl looked like was ready to explode with excitement at the prospect of having a new glee club member and Quinn didn't have the heart take that away from her. She was going to have to sacrifice her afternoon naps though. This girl better be happy. She was just slightly confused about something.

"What's glee club?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

They never did manage to meet up with the glee club at break because Rachel spent the next twenty minutes explaining what glee club was and how it was important to her. She also somehow managed to find Quinn between each period to continue to explanation that had somehow morphed into one about Rachel's dreams and her admiration of Barbra Streisand. She also learned that Barbra was Rachel's middle name.

At the end she seemed to lose the tangent of Barbra completely and began talking about her new, _very _new, boyfriend Finn. Apparently he was the captain of the football team, though it was currently basketball season, which was a sport he also played, and was the love of her life.

Quinn was a bit skeptical about the whole, love of her life thing, but didn't think it would be a good idea to argue. That was an activity that required a lot of talking.

She was thankful that at the end of the day she managed to meet up with Charlotte and ask about her about the try outs she was supposed to do today after school.

"She just said that I have to meet up after school today because she doesn't have a Cheerios practice on and wants to put me through my paces," she explained.

"Want me to wait?"

"Please," she sad nervously, "I'm worried about not making it and it would be nice to have you there if I don't. For comfort, you know."

Quinn pulled her into a hug.

"You'll be fine," she said reassuringly.

Charlotte nodded against her shoulder, "Thanks Quinnie, I needed that."

Quinn frowned at her.

"Fine, thanks _Quinn_," she said putting emphasis on her sisters name.

Quinn smiled at her sister as the younger girl walked off.

She knew the girl would be fine. She'd been a fantastic dancer and had always want to be a cheerleader when she'd them in movies, but her old school had never had a cheerleading squad. So, Charlotte had decided she would practice her skills for the future. She had determination, that's for sure. Yeah, she was sure her sister would be fine. Her musings were interrupted by Rachel as she seemed to swoop down out of nowhere in front of Quinn. She wondered if Rachel would be offended if she compared her to batman.

"Quinn, there you are. We have to go! It is absolutely imperative that you make a good first impression and being early will definitely contribute towards that. So come on!" said Rachel, once again latching onto Quinn's wrist and pulling her along.

While Quinn actually quiet enjoyed the feeling of Rachel's hand on her wrist, she wasn't that fond of being dragged along. That was why she was happy when they finally reached the double doors that opened into the glee club practice room.

She was met by the sight of several of the most obviously mismatched students she'd ever come across… and they were all staring at her.

"Hello Mr. Schuester my fellow glee club members!" she greeted enthusiastically. "I have found us another member. Her name is Quinn Fabray and she is currently attending McKinley as a junior."

Some of students mumbled a quiet hi, some waved and others looked disinterested.

"Hi Quinn," greeted Mr. Schuester as he held out a hand that she shook.

"Hi," she replied in a quiet voice.

"So you want to join glee club?" he asked.

Quinn shrugged.

Mr. Shue looked at Rachel questioningly, as if she held the answers to the girls odd behaviour.

"She agreed to join Mr. Schue she's just not very talkative," Rachel said.

"What the fucks up with you, hobo?" asked the Latina girl in front wearing a cheerleading uniform.

"Santana, that was completely unnecessary and could you please not scare away future members. We need everyone we can get," Rachel said.

Santana looked at Rachel for a moment then looked back at Quinn, "I repeat, what the fucks up with you, hobo?"

Clearly this girl and her sister agreed with how the hoodie made her look. Unfortunately for them she liked the thing. It was so warm, soft and comfortable. She liked it and didn't particularly care how it made her look. She focused back on Santana.

"Nothing," she replied with another shrug.

"Really," she looked at the rest of the glee club, "because it looks like the little hobbit over there found this girl sitting on the side of the road. We are not that desperate for members treasure trail. Puck found Zizes to sing with is at Sectionals and as long as we keep bribing her with food she'll stay," said Santana gesturing to a large girl sitting next to the boy with a mohawk at the back of the room.

_How come she gets bribed with food, _thought Quinn. _I want want food. _Normally she would have pled for bacon, but her new coach had forbidden it. In fact she'd tried to cheat, but somehow the woman had just known. Practice that day had been particularly gruelling. So she'd had to make do with her second favourite food - liquorice.

Mr. Shue's voice brought her back to earth.

"Santana…" said Mr. Schue warningly.

Clearly the girl had said more while she'd been fantasising about food.

Rachel, however, was just happy that the lighting in there was good enough for them to see enough of her face to tell that she was a girl.

"I admit the circumstances are suspicious," interrupted Kurt, "and she does remind me a great deal of homeless person, but it always better to have more members."

"Kurt is right everyone. We are always in need more people to sway in the background for me. There cannot be a performance without everyone to help," said rachel adding in her two cents.

Quinn laughed quietly, this was funny.

Then she realised the rest of the glee club were giving her pitying looks and she realised that the girl was serious. One part of her cried out in dismay and the other part found it even more hilarious.

She was proud that her face remained stoic despite the emotional discord.

Clapping his hands Mr. Schuester brought their wondering attention back to him.

"So, Quinn. What can you do?" he asked.

"Yeah that's right Mr. Schue we can't just be letting her in if she can't even do anything," said the black girl dressed in a very hip hop R&B sort of style. Quinn thought it looked nice. Despite the fact that the girl basically implied that she couldn't do anything. Now that they were talking about it though, what exactly did they want her to do.

Quinn looked at Rachel questioningly and the girl seemed to understand what she was asking.

"He means do you have any particular skill that would contribute the the betterment of our glee club in any way?" asked the brunette.

"I still not…" she trailed off. "I'm not sure I know what kind of skills you're asking me to show you," said Quinn. Finishing the longest sentence she'd said all day. Grimacing slightly she touched a hand to her throat. Damn, it still hurt slightly. But no one seemed to notice the gesture.

"Wow! That's a new record Quinn!" exclaimed Rachel. Quinn would have suspected sarcasm if not for the genuine happiness in the small girl's eyes.

Quinn nodded in acceptance.

"But, what's with the accent?" asked the boy in the wheel chair.

"She doesn't have accent Artie," said Rachel. "Actually wait just moment! This is currently the most you have said the entire day. Taking that into account all your previous sentences were really short which must then mean they were to short for me to really pick up on any sort of dialect. I have sensitive ears you know. If you'd spoken a bit more I would have picked it up." Rachel paused. "Just why do you have an accent?"

"I'm from Quebec," Quinn shrugged.

"That makes sense," said Artie with a nod. The rest of the glee club nodded in agreement.

"You don't look french though," said Kurt.

The glee club again nodded in agreement, again. Quinn was well aware of the fact that she didn't look 'french' per say. If only because she was blonde. But, that was only because her parents were originally from Ohio. She was just born there. She thought about explaining that to them, but decided she didn't really feel like it. So she just shrugged.

"My question?" Quinn asked with raised brow. Not that anyone could see it hidden in the shadow.

Rachel frowned for a moment in thought then smiled, "Oh that question! It can be anything Quinn. Like singing, dancing, acting, playing an instrument, just… well - anything!"

_Shortest explanation she's given today, _Quinn wanted to say. But kept it to herself. The people here seemed like they'd just jump on the chance to mock Rachel and she wasn't going to help contribute towards that - particularly when she found herself growing quiet fond of the brunette.

Quinn thought for a moment. What exactly could she do?

"I can play piano… and dance," she added after a moments pause. Learning to play an instrument had been a requirement at her old school. Her father had said she should pick piano because it was elegant, a girls' instrument. She was dubious about the whole girls' instrument thing, but had gone along with his request anyway because she hadn't been partial to any particular instrument. She'd ended up quite good.

As for the dancing. The gymnastics did help, but she'd actually taken dancing lessons. When her sister had decided she wanted to be a cheerleader she'd decided that she would help. So, she'd asked her father to enrol them both in dance lessons. It'd put strain on her busy schedule, but she'd wanted to help her sister.

"How do we now she's even telling the truth. I mean for all we know the she could be lying through her teeth just to get in," said Santana.

"Wh-who would l-l-lie to get in g-g-glee Santana," said the Asian girl near Artie.

"Vocal Adrenaline spy, Tina," said Mercedes.

"Look, enough guys. We never turn anyone away and we're not going to start now," said Mr. Schue.

"Besides," added Kurt, "she doesn't dress good enough to be from Vocal Adrenaline."

"Kurt, that was completely unnecessary. Quinn, please go take a seat. I'm sure that you'll find the club quiet enjoyable," said Rachel as she ushered Quinn towards the seats.

Quinn was just happy to finally be able to sit down. She was also tired of people dissing her clothing choice, it wasn't that bad. She wondered off to the back and took a seat next to the large girl eating, who she assumed was Lauren Zizes.

"Got any liquorice?" she asked when she sat down.

The girl looked her up and down and glared at her from behind glasses. Quinn thought she was going to say no until she pulled out two pieces of liquorice from the packet of sweets and gave them to Quinn.

"Here blondie, but this is gonna cost you," she said.

Quinn paused as she was about to put the sweets in her mouth.

"Huh?"

"I don't do nothing for free."

"Oh…" Quinn shrugged, "sure."

_How bad could it be._

For some absurd reason she had a feeling she'd regret that thought.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

At the end of glee practice - which she learnt very little during other then the fact that Rachel was a really tactile person given the fact that she hadn't let go of Finn the whole time - she headed off in the direction of the gym in hopes of finding her sister there.

And she did find her there.

Lying on the floor.

In the middle of gym.

Panting for air.

Feeling slightly worried for her she hurried over and knelt next to her. At least the panting assured her that she wasn't dead. Brushing some of the sweaty hair from her face she sat down properly and pulled her sister's head into her lap.

"You okay, Char?" she asked concernedly.

"I'm fine-" pant "-I made-" pant pant "-the team."

"That's great Char," she said giving her a big smile.

"She-" pant "-nearly-" pant "-killed me."

"I'll help you," said Quinn as she removed her sister's head from her lap. Slipping her arms under the girl's knees and upper back she picked her up. Her tired muscles protested, but she ignored them. She had another practice tonight anyway.

"You don't-" pant "-have to carry me Quinn," she said as she started getting her breathing under control.

"It's fine," she said as she carried her out the gym and into the changing rooms.

"Thanks Quinn," said Charlotte as her protective sister placed her on the bench next to her bag.

Quinn nodded as she sat next to her sister on the bench.

After a few minutes of silence Charlotte dug through her bag until she found her towel and headed off to shower.

Quinn waited patiently until her sister returned from her shower. Turning her head away to give her privacy while she changed. A hand on her shoulder told her that Charlotte was done. She lifted up her hand and squeezed the one on her shoulder before looking up at her sister's face. A face she shared.

Giving her a soft smile she stood up and hugged the girl close to her. "I'm proud of you Char, and he would be to," she said, even though the longer sentence hurt her throat slightly.

"I know," she said as she buried her face in her sister's shoulder, letting Quinn's presence calm her.

"Come on," said Quinn letting go of her, "I've got practice."

Charlotte smiled at her sister then sprinted out the room shouting to Quinn behind her, "Come on then you lazy ass!"

_I thought she was practically incapacitated, _thought Quinn smiling as she followed after her sister. _Where does she get all that energy?_

At least their house was nearby. Otherwise it would be a nightmare walking to and from school everyday. Sometimes being freshman age in junior year really did suck.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Rachel watched as a girl ran passed and smiled when she realised it was Quinn - wearing different clothes - but still Quinn, at least she thought so even if there was something a little off about her that she couldn't put her finger on.

Then she saw Quinn run passed again, this time in the clothes she was wearing earlier, but with her hood thrown back. She waved at Rachel as she went passed and smiled.

Rachel blinked slowly several times and shook her head.

She had to be hallucinating.

By the time she'd woken up from her daze to check if what she'd seen was real there was no one there.

Wondering about her sanity she carried on walking.

"It's just the stress," she muttered, "it must be the stress."

**Author's Note: **So as you can see I decided to bring in Lauren Zizes now rather then in Season 2. She is also not dating Puck, yet. That's why they bribe her with food. I just didn't know who else to bring in so that they met the minimum number of 12 members they needed to compete in Sectionals without the original Quinn there. For the fact that Brittany and Santana were there, let's just assume that Sylvester decided to add spies of her own initiative.

Just so you are aware this will be a Rachel/Quinn story, though I will be focusing more on Quinn then anyone else. Maybe later I'll branch out a bit.

She also isn't going to jump straight into a relationship with Rachel. Attraction doesn't mean love or even a want to be in a relationship. You can be attracted to a lot of people without loving them. That'll happen later. I want friendship first. Plus, Rachel's whole thing with Puck, Finn and Jesse is kind of funny without the cruel ending.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee… I'll get over it eventually. One day. In the far future… I'm going to go sit in a corner and cry now.

**Author's Note: **I'm disappointed by the lack of reviews. But, I suppose I can understand. I don't even start reading the story until the word count reaches at least 40 000, there's just too much risk that the author will stop writing otherwise. Anyway, I'm glad those of you that did review liked the chapter.

I did gymnastics at an amateur level until I was fourteen. But, I never competed in any events. I also never trained with the seriousness of a professional, so I'm probably not going to go into detail about that kind of thing. Before you continue reading just know that the despite the start to this chapter this is a humorous story. There's just a bit of angst involved in her past that will cause darker parts to emerge.

'Fishing' - Normal

_**'**_**Fishing**_**' - **_Other (Just incase something else comes up.)

_'Fishing'_ - Thoughts, Songs and Dreams

**Chapter 2:**

Quinn woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air, cold sweat coating her skin, tears dripping from the corners of her eyes. Her hand automatically jumped to her throat where she touched the thin, barely visible scar that stretched like a ghostly line across the front of her neck. She needed assurance. Assurance that she wasn't lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Assurance that she could breathe. That she wasn't choking on her on her own blood watching as…

She shook her head.

_Don't think about it Quinn! Don't think about it! _she thought as she fought desperately to push the thoughts from her mind.

She thought the dreams were finished. It had been two months since the last one. She thought they were gone. Thought she'd finally managed to get past the constant terrors that still haunted her sleep. _Why? Why must it still haunt me? _she thought as fresh tears dripped down her damp cheeks.

She ran her fingers across her face and into her hair grasping at the strands that hung limply either side of her face.

"Get the fuck out of my head," she mumbled between shuddering breathes.

Throwing off her duvet she walked slowly towards the bathroom that connected her sister's bedroom to hers. She was just glad her sister was a heavy sleeper. In fact she was sure Charlotte could sleep through a bombing raid during World War Two.

That was funny actually quiet a funny thought.

She started giggling.

It was funny.

So funny.

The giggles built in her throat until she was laughing. The extensive use of her vocal chords causing a searing pain to shoot through her throat.

She was laughing hysterically or was it hysterically laughing.

She couldn't tell anymore.

But, as tears joined the laughter and her laughter turned to sobs she found herself leaning against the wall hugging her body as she cried. As if holding on just that little bit tighter would help her hold together the shattered parts of herself. She found herself sliding down slowly until she was curled into a ball with her arms around her knees.

She sat there, body shaking and shuddering until eventually her breathing steadied and her taught muscles relaxed and she slowly drifted into slumber never making it the bathroom in the end.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Her body woke up in the most uncomfortable position, muscles aching from the odd angles her joints had been in all night. She would have laid their and contemplated the pain further, but the reason she was awake, her alarm, was blaring across the room.

Staggering to her feet she slouched across the room and managed to stop her alarm. Glaring at the screen which indicated it was four in the morning. She wished it was a mistake and that she'd mistyped in the alarm time when she set it, but it just wasn't so. She really had to get up at four o'clock in the morning. Her sadistic coach had told her she had to get to the gym at quarter past four in the morning. She was pushing it by staying asleep till now.

Thankfully she had the foresight to pack the day before. There's no way that she would have the energy to actually pack now. Particularly since last night's activities had left her so exhausted.

Grabbing the gym bag from the floor she let the house as quickly as her tired body allowed and grabbed her bike from the garage - as in bicycle, not motorbike because she could't legally drive yet - she cursed any Gods who were listening about that. Then rode the ten minute journey to the club.

Hopping off the bike she quickly chained it then jogged inside the imposing building where she found Coach Gerson waiting for her.

"Drop the bag Quinn!" was her greeting, that Quinn obeyed without question. "We're doing fitness this morning."

_We haven't done fitness yet? _Quinn thought. _What about all the pain and the blood and the tears! How is that not fitness! I've nearly died for you you crazy senile lady!_

She was thankful she managed to keep her face impassive.

"Fitness?" was all she said, despite the fact that she was screaming obscenities on the inside.

"Yes fitness. You didn't think what we've been doing so far has been fitness did you." _Yes, yes I did, _she thought. "No, no, no, that was simply a test of your skills and what we shall continue to do every afternoon when we practice those skills until we create perfection. But every morning we shall push you to the limits of your physical fitness."

Quinn stared in disbelief, then glanced in the direction of the exit and wondered if she could get out before the woman got to her. She doubted she could do it. Coach Gerson was closer and was faster then she looked. But, she was still going to try.

It seemed, however, that Coach Gerson had anticipated her actions. When she reached the door and tried to open it she found it locked. She ran to the next door and tried that one too. But, it was useless.

She heard laughter. Suspiciously evil laughter. She spun round and saw that Coach Gerson hadn't moved.

"Automatic locks _Quinnie," _she said.

Quinn stared in horror. She was going to die.

"Now follow me," she commanded. Quinn slumped and followed her coach with an air of resignation. "Oh, don't be so sad Quinn. It'll be fun."

For some reason that statement was no help in easing her doubts. The next one didn't either.

"Well, fun for me at least."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Pushing herself up from the grass beneath her Quinn managed to stagger back into a standing position. Even if she was a bit unsteady swaying from side to side slightly, like a drunk.

It was quarter past seven. She'd been training for three hours and was dead on her feet. Every muscle in her body had been hurting since half an hour into the session. She'd been praying she didn't have a heart attack since forty five minutes in because her heart hadn't stopped pounding against her chest even when she took brief breaks. Brief meaning two minutes every half an hour.

In fact whenever they did stop to take a break she felt the urge to the throw up. Like her body didn't know how to stop. It felt even worse then the pain in her muscles during the actual exercise.

All she wanted to so was go stand under the shower and let the hot water to sooth her aching muscles. After which she could finally eat her breakfast. She probably would have been starving, but for the fact that the ache in her muscles overpowered any other ache her body could come up with.

"Hit the showers, Fabray," called out her coach from across the field.

_Thank God! _she cried out in her head.

She desperately wanted to collapse to the floor and just lie there. In fact on any other day she would have done so, but she had agreed to do glee because of those big brown doe eyes she couldn't say no to. Which meant that because today was a Wednesday, she had to meet them all half an hour before school. Which was in half an hour.

That didn't leave her much time. In fact she wouldn't even have enough time for a long shower.

Heaving out a despondent sigh she limped off the field for the shower she so desperately needed. Right now she didn't even care if it was going to be a short shower. She just wanted to relax. She was exhausted beyond comprehensive thought. All she could think was _Shower… shower… shower. _She felt that she had a lot in common with zombies at that very moment. If you just replaced the word shower with brains, they could be cousins.

Entering the gym she didn't even notice the younger members, who now occupied the gym, looking at her strangely as she limped passed, grabbed her bag and dragged it behind her as she slouched off to the bathroom to the magnificent shower that awaited her.

Throwing her bag down on one of the benches. She threw off her clothes, too exhausted to care if anyone was watching her, then headed off to the showers. She growled at one of the younger girls - not wanting to wait for the water to warm up if she started up a new shower - and scared the living daylights out of her. Normally she would care… normally.

This wasn't a normal day.

The shower was just as amazing as she imagined. The heat soothing the ache in her muscles as she leant her hands against the tiled walls. Letting the water pound against her back like a masseuse.

It was also really short and she damned her commitment to that club. Turning off the shower after far to little enjoyment of it she slouched off back to her bag and dug through it for her clothes. Which were, for today, a pair of worn jeans, a black sweater that hung on her frame and a grey scarf.

She was sure Charlotte would once again tell her she looked like something out of an advertisement for a charity that donated clothes to the homeless and perhaps that Santana girl wold tell her something similar. There wasn't even an ounce of her that cared. If there was, it had just been killed in the last workout.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder she limped out the gym, which she suddenly realised was coloured in a way weirdly reminiscent of the cheerio's uniforms, and walked over to her bike. She still had another fifteen minutes until she had to meet with the glee club. She contemplated going home first. However, she realised that with her legs in their tired state the ride would take longer then usual and she wouldn't make it in time.

Sighing she pulled out her phone and quickly texted Charlotte to let her know that she was heading straight to school and would get some breakfast on the way. She actually wasn't even sure she would have time to do that. Luckily she had foreseen this problem and packed four granola bars in her bag which she hoped would tide her through to lunch. She doubted it, but she still hoped.

Groaning as her tired muscles protested she clambered on her bike and peddled off to what she was now imagining to be her next session of torture. Quinn was actually quite sure that the entire day one be one giant torture session.

It was times like these that she wondered why she did gymnastics, until she remembered that she actually liked it. Despite all the pain and torture she liked pushing herself to her limits. Even if it resulted in pain and exhaustion. She figured she was either a masochist, an adrenaline junky or a combination of both. But, it was fun. Not necessarily the fitness training, but the actual gymnastics.

Practicing for weeks on end until you finally perfect that move. Competing in a competition and stepping up onto that podium. Watching that ground move beneath you as you swung round on the highest bar then catching yourself at just the right moment. It was dangerous and often times painful. But that feeling you get. She sighed. _That feeling makes everything else worth it._

Shaking herself from her thoughts she realised that she was near the school something her aching muscles were eternally grateful for.

Pulling into the parking lot she nearly fell off her bike in her attempt to get off, when her muscles seemed to seize momentarily and ended up stumbling round for a bit before she managed to regain her footing. She was positive that she gave anyone watching an absolutely hilarious show. In fact the snickers she heard from the left solidified this fact.

Grumbling under her breath she looked up at the witness and realised that it couldn't have been a worse person to bear witness to her fantastic feat of clumsiness. She was never going to here the end of this.

"Your acrobatic feats amaze me train wreck," said Santana.

_Great, I've been upgraded from hobo to train wreck. Who knows how long my name will be at the end of the year, _She thought. Actually now that she thought about it the idea was actually quiet fascinating. She was getting a bit interested in seeing what Santana came up with.

"Hey," she replied after a brief pause.

Santana looked her up and down then frowned. There was something wrong with Quinn's outfit and she couldn't figure out what. Giving up she spun round and walked away, but not before called out to Quinn over her shoulder, "You coming or not sloth?"

_Anther new one, _Quinn noted absently, but chose not to comment on it.

Quinn nodded her head and followed after the Latina cheerleader, gym bag slung over her shoulder, happy that they were walking in silence. It was easier for her that way. Especially since making conversation felt like way to much of an effort at that moment. Really, doing anything, but sleeping felt like an effort at the moment. Even blinking felt beyond her capabilities. _So tired, _she thought as she shuffled behind the dark haired girl.

After the agonisingly long walk - it only took about thirty seconds - she sunk into the first seat available when she reached the practice room. Which she didn't realise was next to Rachel until the eternally perky girl greeted her with a bright smile that could blind any passersby. As it was she had to blink several times before she could see properly again.

"Quinn!" she cried happily. "I don't believe I properly introduced you yesterday, but this is my boyfriend Finn," she said, gesturing to the tall pale boy next to her then hugging his arm tightly. The first thing that popped into her mind when she saw him was that he looked really tired, and kind of out of it though less so then yesterday. The second thing she noticed was that he didn't particularly look comfortable being introduced as Rachel's boyfriend. The third and final thing she noticed was that he looked suspiciously like a giant white wall of jello.

"Hi Quinn, nice to meet you," he said offered up a large hand. She was reluctant to offer up her hand in return, mostly because she wondered if he would crush it. She herself had quiet long fingers and her hands were certainly not tiny like Rachel's, but they had nothing on Finn's. So, it was with great reluctance - and by that she means one look at Rachel's big brown eyes and she found herself caving - that she shook his hand. When it returned to her unharmed she almost stroked it with gratitude.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"What for?" asked the boy with a confused look on his face. Well, a more confused look at least. He always seemed to look confused to her.

"Not crushing my hand," Quinn replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Both Finn and Rachel started at her in disbelief. Clearly it wasn't something as obvious as she thought.

Rachel frowned at her, "That wasn't particularly kind of you Quinn. Insulting someone the first time you meet them is really not the best way to move forward into a future friendship."

Quinn was a bit confused by this. She was smart, immensely so, but she lacked a lot of common knowledge about social etiquette. "But, his hands are big."

Rachel took a deep breath as if readying herself for another long speech, but was interrupted but Mr. Schue's entrance before she could begin. She slumped back in her seat looking slightly deflated.

"Good Morning guys!" he said enthusiastically. Quinn wondered how he could be this enthusiastic in the morning. Then she remembered Rachel and decided it was best not to judge. Clearly there were people who could be enthusiastic at this time of day however insane that idea may seem.

Deciding that she could use this time to get some food into her system she dug around in her bag until she managed to find the granola bars. Almost moaning in delight when she finally got to eat. However, somewhere during the second bar her enraptured eating was interrupted by Mr. Schue calling her name. She stopped eating and looked up with a disgruntled frown.

"What?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Quinn, why aren't you wearing any shoes?" he asked gesturing towards her feet.

Frowning in confusion she looked down at her feet and realised he was right. She wasn't wearing any shoes. She thought she'd forgotten to put something on this morning.

"That's what was missing from hobo's outfit, I knew something was up," said Santana.

Quinn looked up from the staring contest she was having with her feet and realised that the entire glee club were staring at her feet.

"I forgot," she said with a shrug as if wasn't the first time this had happened. Which, in fact it wasn't.

"Seriously though girl, how could you forget something like putting on your shoes?" asked Mercedes as she looked at Kurt to back her up.

"Yes, I have to agree with Mercedes on this. Even if you're trying to make a fashion statement going to school without shoes on is a bit much. There's a lot of bacteria," said Kurt.

"Are you kidding man!" said the boy with a mohawk, "That shit's totally badass."

"Quinn," began Rachel. "While you might feel that attending school without shoes on may give you a cool, or 'badass'" - _she sounds like an old lady when she used normal teenage words, _thought Quinn_ - _"image it is simply not the correct way to got about achieving this kind of status. Even if it is, like Kurt stated, an attempt at making a fashion statement. You simply cannot fully conceive the danger you are putting yourself in from a hygienic stand point. There are many various diseases that you could possibly contract by forgoing footwear."

Quinn stared at them all and then Rachel in disbelief. "I just forgot," she said with a shrug.

"Somehow that makes it even more badass man," said Puck.

"I've just stated that that is irrelevant Noah," Rachel said with an adorable glare at the boy. Well, at least Quinn thought it was adorable. Everything about the smaller girl was adorable.

She realised that she still had her half eaten granola bar in her hand and carried on eating it while she watched the events carry out in front of her. This club was pretty amusing. She wondered if they were against changing their club to a comedic club instead of a glee one.

"Who care Treasure Trail," said Santana. "What I wanna know is how Dopey forgot to put on her shoes in the morning."

_I kinda like Dopey, _thought Quinn to herself. It sounded sweet and affectionate.

"Maybe Lord Tubbington stole them. I think he has a shoe fetish, I swear he ate my favourite sandals," said the Brittany. Everyone except Quinn stared at her in disbelief. Quinn nodded her head along in agreement. She'd seen a horse eat a pair or boots before. She wasn't sure if the horse survived, but it was possible. She then looked around and realised that the entire room was silent. Maybe Brittany had a super power because this was the first time she'd ever been inside this room when people hadn't been making noise.

"Guys," said Mr. Schue breaking the silence. "We're getting a bit off track here. Quinn, I'm sorry you don't have any shoes on. Are you sure that you'll be okay?"

Quinn nodded.

"Alright then. Do any of you have a performance for me today? As you recall I gave you the assignment 'Hello' on Monday. Quinn, I'm sorry you weren't here for that, but maybe you can perform next week." _Not on your life, _she thought. "In the mean time, I would like to ask if there is anybody who is ready for their performance today?"

"Yeah, Mr. Schue," said Finn, "that advise you gave me really helped. So, I think I have the perfect song for the assignment."

"Well then come on up Finn," said Mr. Schue moving until he was standing by the piano.

Finn nodded and quickly jumped to his feet giving a smile to the and a nod to the band before beginning his performance.

_Hello, I love you Won't you tell me your name Hello I love you Let me jump in your game Hello, I love you Won't you tell me your name Hello I love you Let me jump in your game_

Quinn hummed along sightly as she ate her granola bar, watching the tall boy sing. She thought he was actually a really good singer though his dance moves definitely left something to be desired. She thought he looked like a three legged mammoth trying to walk on a tightrope, though he really seemed to think he looked beyond awesome when he was singing the song.

_She's walkin' down the street Blind to every eye she meets Do you think you'll be the guy To make the queen of the angels sigh Hello, I love you Won't you tell me your name Hello I love you Let me jump in your game _

Now Quinn raised an eyebrow as she watched and paused mid chew on her granola bar, something practically unheard of. She could swear that the boy was flirting with every girl in the room, even her. Though he seemed particularly fond of Santana and Brittany. They seemed to be enjoying his attention, though she couldn't really be sure whether they were pretending or not.

_Hello, I love you Won't you tell me your name Hello I love you Let me jump in your game She holds her head so high Like a statue in the sky Her arms are wicked and her legs are long When she moves my brain screams out this song_

Okay he was definitely flirting, decided Quinn as she watched him move around the room. She shuddered, it was disturbing to watch. She glanced at Rachel to see what she thought about the whole performance, but the girl seemed completely oblivious to the whole not so subtext flirting that was going on. Quinn hoped that mammoth boy wasn't going to hurt her.

_Sidewalk crouches at her feet Like a dog that begs for somethin' sweet Do you hope to make her see, you fool Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! I want you I need my baby Yeah Yeah Hello! Hello! Hello!_

Quinn was shocked that he didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was flirting with other girls. _The guy's like a cat in heat, _she thought. In fact nobody seemed to bat an eyelash. So, maybe it was normal to sing to other people even if you were in a relationship with someone else, she considered. It just didn't seemed normal to her.

After the club had finished applauding, Rachel stood up with a smile on her face, "And that fellow glee clubbers is how we say 'hello'."

As Rachel finished speaking the bell rang. She then walked down the stairs and headed towards Mr. Schue. "Mr. Schuester, I would like to run some of my 'hello' ideas by you."

Quinn was about to get up and leave the classroom when she noticed something that caught her attention and made her frown. Santana and Brittany were both heading towards Finn. Pinkies linked with smirks on their faces. They didn't look like they were about to do any sort of good. She stopped what she was doing. Well, almost stopped everything she was doing. She still had her fourth granola bar to eat.

"You're a really good dancer," said Santana with a smirk. Quinn raised a brow. That was clearly a blatant lie.

"Thanks," said Finn with a confused look on his face, "but my feet weren't really moving."

_True, _thought Quinn. _And, when they did it wasn't pretty._

"That was the best part," said Brittany.

_True again, _thought Quinn. Finn not moving was clearly better then Finn moving. Still, she'd give him props for an awesome voice.

"Oh," he said with a nod.

"Britt and I were wondering if you wanted to go out?" asked Santana in a way that was more of a statement then a question.

"O-on a date?" asked Finn hesitantly, "With which one of you?"

"With both of us," they said together, linking arms.

Unfortunately for Quinn she never got to hear the answer. Being new to the whole normal high school thing and all that came with it her hormones were raging, you know, just a little bit. As it was she was caught completely unawares by the image that flashed through her mind when they said that. It certainly distracted her for about a minute before she managed to get herself together. It also made her face flush a violent red that caught the attention of one Noah Puckerman.

When he realised where she was looking he grinned to himself and knelt down behind her.

"It's pretty hot," he whispered into her ear. Had she lesser nerves she would've jumped six feet into the air in surprise. As it was she displayed no visible reaction, but for the slight widening of her eyes. She spun round to look at him with a raised brow.

"You mean Santana and Brittany?" she asked to be sure.

"Who else would I be talking about? Finn? For some reason girls seem to find him attractive, but he's certainly not to my taste," he smirked at her when he said the next part, "and I din't think he's to yours either."

"No," agreed Quinn with a shake of her head, "he makes me think of a mammoth."

Puck raised a brow, "So, you like the ladies, huh?"

"What?"

"You're attracted to girls not boys?" he clarified.

Quinn frowned in thought. She'd never really had to face this sort of situation before. She'd never really had the chance to deiced which gender she preferred until recently. As it was she still wasn't sure. Which she decided was only because she wasn't sure exactly what attraction was, she'd never felt it or heard it explained before. She'd looked it up in the dictionary, but that hadn't exact helped. The explanation she'd gotten was - **The action or power of evoking interest, pleasure, or liking for someone or something: "the timeless attraction of a good tune"**. Which wasn't something she hand't heard before. It just wasn't personal enough. Maybe Puck could help.

"What exactly is attraction?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Huh?" he said. Surprised by the question.

"Attraction, what is it?"

"You don't know?" he asked in surprise.

Quinn shook her head and Puck grinned. Throwing an arm over her shoulder he lead her out the classroom, "Let me explain to you, a little bit about attraction."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

By the end of it Quinn was staring wide eyed at the boy next to her.

"So, you got it?" he asked

She nodded as her eyes flickered to her classrooms entrance.

"Know who you're attracted to now?"

She nodded.

"Boys or girls?" he asked with a smirk.

"Girls," she said still stuck in a daze.

He nodded his head sagely, "Glad I could help you out."

He then lifted his arm off her shoulder and headed off to his class, Quinn staring after him in shock. She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to look at anyone the same again. Not with this information inside her head. She was still trying to process just exact what Puck had explained. A part of her just wanted to chuck it all out the window and the other wanted to take in every detail.

Still stuck in a daze she wondered into class. In fact she stayed that way through out all her classes until lunch time when she was walked down the corridor and bumped into the familiar body of one Rachel Berry. Luckily she managed to catch the diva before she fell to the floor hooking her arms around the girls waist and catching her so that her feet stayed firmly planted on the ground.

"Thank you Quinn," she said with a smile. "I appreciate the fact that you managed to prevent me falling to the floor yet again in one of our collision encounters."

Quinn nodded.

"Would you like to join the rest of use for lunch?" she asked.

Quinn shrugged and followed Rachel down the corridor listening to the petite girl ramble on about her latest ballet show until the hulking form of an approaching footballer caught her attention. He held one of those large slushy cups in his hands and was walking towards her with a smirk on his face. When he reached Quinn he threw the drink and she reacted instinctively. Her body moving before she really realised what she was doing.

Dodging to the right, she let the slushy fall harmlessly to the floor staining the grey tiles a bright blue colour. Grabbing the arm that threw the slushy she pulled him forward into her raised knee so that his body crumpled forward. She then walked forward and yanking that same arm so that his body spun round before kicking him in the exact spot she knew his kidneys were located sending him crashing to the floor.

It all happened in a matter of moments and to anyone else watching it was hard to be sure just exactly what had happened. Rachel just starred dumbstruck at what she'd witnessed. Realising what she'd done Quinn winced. She shouldn't have done that, but it was hard to stop her instinctual reactions sometimes. She hoped the boy didn't take it up with the principal though she doubted it would result in expulsion. With her exemplary track record and grades she doubted the principal would expel her. Still, he might call her mother and she didn't want to worry the woman.

Realising that she and Rachel were still standing in the middle of the corridor near the fallen bully with the rest of the student body gaping at her she quickly grabbed the girls tanned hand and led her towards the cafeteria.

Waking from her dazed state Rachel blinked several times at Quinn in shock.

"Quinn," she said in disbelief, "do you realise what exact it is that you have just done?"

"Dodged a slushy?"

"No, well yes, but that's not the part that I'm talking about. I'm talking about that part where you manhandled Karofsky and soundly defeated him," said Rachel as she gestured wildly. "I do not condone violence Quinn. I believe it to be incorrect which is one of the reason's that I choose to be a Vegan. You could have simply dodged the slushy and continued on your way. However, I cannot deny that there is a part of me that enjoyed that immensely. There is something satisfying about it."

Quinn smiled wanly at her, but on the inside there was a sick feeling building up. When she looked down at her hands all should could picture was the blood. That blood that haunted her memories. She didn't expect what had happened there to follow her here. She thought if she left that things would be different. She'd hoped they would be.

She looked at the small brunette next to her with a softer smile on her face watching as she waved her hands animatedly, speaking with enthusiasm.

In some ways things were different. Somethings were better, but it just seemed so hard to get passed. Her hand brushed the mark on her neck. Things always seemed so complicated. She wondered if she would ever be able to leave that life behind. She wondered if she should even try.

"Quinn," said Rachel tugging her arm slightly and looking up at her with concerned eyes. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled.

"Are you sure that your assessment is correct? Your face seemed to visible turn a very green shade of pale for a moment there," she said still holding her arm as she spoke.

"I'm fine," Quinn protested.

"Promise?" she asked, saying the shortest thing Quinn had every heard her say in their very brief space of time together.

She nodded.

"Well, if you're absolutely sure," she said giving Quinn a skeptical look.

Quinn nodded.

"Fine, well let's get to the cafeteria. I don't want to miss lunch this time. It's bad for my health and doing so could absolutely ruin my carefully planned regiment," she said as she led Quinn down the corridor.

Quinn's leg muscles protested, but she followed anyway.

_And to think, I have another session at the gym this afternoon, _she thought as she pushed through the ache.

**Author's Note: **Didn't really realise I'd be putting angst in here. You think I should change the romance to angst or is it not that bad? Anyway, I hope you like it and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Having to write the fact that I don't own Glee at the beginning of every chapter is really starting to get to me… it's a cruel world.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! Glad to know you like it!

There is a sup rising amount of angst in this story that I was totally not expecting, but I'm just going to go with it. If the story wants it so it shall be.

I did the whole previously thing on my other story so I think I'm going to do that here too. It really helps to remember what happened before and I find that a little glimpse into the previous chapter really helps with that.

'Fishing' - Normal

_**'**_**Fishing**_**' - **_Other (Just incase something else comes up.)

_'Fishing'_ - Thoughts, Songs and Dreams

**Previously:**

"I'm fine," Quinn protested.

"Promise?" she asked, saying the shortest thing Quinn had every heard her say in their very brief space of time together.

She nodded.

"Well, if you're absolutely sure," she said giving Quinn a skeptical look.

Quinn nodded.

"Fine, well let's get to the cafeteria. I don't want to miss lunch this time. It's bad for my health and doing so could absolutely ruin my carefully planned regiment," she said as she led Quinn down the corridor.

Quinn's leg muscles protested, but she followed anyway.

_And to think, I have another session at the gym this afternoon, _she thought as she pushed through the ache.

**Chapter 3:**

"You got practice today?" she asked her sister with a raised brow.

"Yeah… I'm really looking forward to it, but at the same time I'm really nervous, you know? Kinda feels like that time where we dared each other to see who could stay awake for the longest without sleeping and I drank so much coffee that I was bouncing round like a lunatic. You won, of course. Who knew that you could stay up for four days without sleeping. Four days! I mean you just always seemed to be taking naps so I just assumed it would be easy. Why wouldn't it be? You like to sleep a lot. You liked to sleep a lot then too. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah! I was saying that I feel similar to when I had drunken a lot of coffee to stay awake and-"

"Want me to wait?" interjected Quinn.

Charlotte looked conflicted for a moment before squaring her shoulders and shaking her head. "No… I mean I'm really nervous, but this is just something I've gotta do by myself. You get that, right?"

Quinn nodded her head.

In all truth she actually hadn't the faintest idea why Charlotte wanted to do this by herself. But, she she looked really determined and Quinn was never one to stand in her way.

"Thanks Quinn," she said leaning over and giving her a quick hug. "See you tonight, probably won't be able to catch you before you go to gymnastics, but I'll see you for dinner."

Quinn nodded and returned the hug before watching her bubbly sister bounce off.

Sighing she fixed her backpack and headed off towards the exit. She was busy walked down on the almost empty corridors when she heard a sound coming from the bathroom that made her freeze. She looked round at the few other students in the corridor to see if any of them had noticed, but they all seemed far to busy getting out of school to pay attention to the faint sound.

Frowning slightly she moved towards the bathroom and pushed the door open tentatively, peeking her head inside to see if she could spot anyone. Not seeing the person responsible she entered the bathroom as quietly as she could, hoping that the sobbing person wouldn't hear her. She thought she'd been successful until the door swung back and creaked loudly.

"Who's there?" asked the voice, a voice she thought she recognised. She cursed the stupid door for giving her away.

Quinn stayed silent.

"I know you're there," said the voice, it was achingly familiar. "I can here your breathing. I carry a rape whistle!"

Suddenly the voice clicked and she realised who it was. How could she not have recognised that voice. She supposed the crying did add a sort of huskiness to it that wasn't usually there.

"Rachel?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes… who are you?" she let out a little gasp. "Are you my conscience?"

Quinn resisted the urge to laugh. Sometimes the girl was just too much.

"No Rachel, it's me... Quinn," she said as she moved towards the closed stall she assumed Rachel was hiding in.

She didn't reply for a moment and Quinn wondered if she was just going to stay silent hidden in the bathroom stall. However, her doubts were put to rest when the sound of the latch clicking open broke the silence. There was a brief pause before the door gradually swung open to reveal the slightly red face of Rachel Berry, hair hanging down like a curtain round her face as she stared intently at the floor.

"Rachel," Quinn began tentatively, not sure exactly where to go with this. She'd never had a girl other then her sister crying in front of her and she wasn't sure that even counted. They were family. It was different.

The girl looked up from the floor eyes looking swollen and red rimmed, cheeks slightly damp from where her tears had been. She looked so small and broken standing there in the doorframe. Quinn felt a strange urge to move forward and comfort her, or maybe just support her. She didn't look like she would be able to stand for much longer. Her legs shaking at the knees.

She looked straight into Quinn's hazel eyes searching for… something… anything to show she wasn't out to hurt her. When she found only concern for her whole body just seemed to cave in on itself. Quinn was about to move forward and help her, but she needn't have bothered. The petite brunette lunged towards her, arms wrapping round her waist clutching at the loose fabric that hung there with shaking hands. Head burying itself in her chest as she cried, body shaking heavily as the sobs wracked up and down her frame.

Quinn wasn't exactly sure what to do. She'd only known the girl all of two days and though she'd recently discovered she was attracted her they weren't exactly friends, yet. Close acquaintances, perhaps, but she was sure you had to have known someone for longer then two days to really be considered friends. Still, she felt her heart squeeze slightly as the petite girl soaked the fabric of her shirt with tears. Clearly something had happened to her and Quinn would do her best to help, even if they weren't very close. It was in her nature.

She decided it simply best to go with the more familiar reactions, similar to what she did with her sister. Hesitantly she moved her arms from where they hung next to her and slowly wrapped them round the crying girl. Resting one at the small of the girls back and placing the other comfortingly at the back of the girls head, subconsciously running her fingers through the dark, silky strands. _So soft, _she thought, eyes closing as a strange wave of content flowed through her.

Resting her chin atop the ducked head she found herself rubbing soothing circles against the girls back, rocking her back and forth slightly as she tried to calm the girls tears.

It took several more minutes before the girls sobs seemed to calm ever so slightly and the shudders that ran through her body seemed to lessen until she seemed to be almost normal.

Shifting ever so slightly against the tall, lean frame she looked up at the face of the girl she'd been using as a crying post, meeting her intense hazel eyes as she did so. They seemed to watch her so carefully, filled with such concern. It warmed her. She'd rarely had anyone, but her fathers ever look at her like that. She looked back down rested her head back against the girls chest. It felt nice to have someone hold her like this, someone who wasn't family. She'd never had the opportunity to be held like this before. Not even Finn had really…

Finn...

Finn…

Finn…

_Finn..._

She blinked rapidly as she pushed back more tears that seemed desperate to break through. She'd barely even gotten to experience what it really felt like to date him before he decided to break up with her. Apparently he wasn't ready to commit to one woman, yet. At least that was the excuse he'd used, but she'd told him the real reason, because she knew him. She knew him, she really understood him and she didn't understand why he couldn't just look passed her exterior and see who she was on the inside. Why he couldn't just look passed his first impression and see that she loved him for who he was. She loved everything about him. She knew he was scared, but why couldn't he see that.

She felt another sob choke passed her throat and swallowed heavily as she clutched tighter to Quinn's loose sweater.

The girl was being so nice to her. Really, really nice to her.

She felt herself burst into tears again as she held tighter to the girl she'd only met the day before. She didn't want to rely on this girl who was practically a stranger to her for help, but there really weren't that many options around. She wasn't exactly surrounded by friends to chose from.

Rachel felt herself being shifted slightly as the girl slowly slid down into a sitting position on the bench, gently pulling her so that she sat in the middle of her crossed legs. The brunette curled herself up in the blondes lap and buried her face in the girls neck, letting herself be held as she let her tears loose. Though she was surprised she had any left. It felt as if she'd been crying forever.

But, the feeling of the girls fingers through her hair felt calming. It felt relaxing, soothing and she eventually found her breathing calming down and her tears slowing until she just sat there. Letting the long fingers run through her hair, eyes closed just taking in the feeling of being held. It was comforting. She actually felt her eyes drifting shut and she thought might fall asleep in the other girls arms. But, the sound of Quinn's husky voice broke the silence and woke her up.

"Feel any better?" she asked, moving slightly so that she could look Rachel in the eyes as she spoke.

Rachel thought about it for a moment, "I-I don't know. I don't think I'm going to start crying any second now, but I certainly don't… I don't… I don't feel much better emotionally. It still hurts."

Quinn frowned, "What happened?"

Rachel sighed and fiddled with the edges of Quinn's worn sweater. "Finn-" she almost started crying again when she said his name. She shook her head a bit and took several deep breathes before trying again.

"Finn broke up with me," she managed to get out in a rush. Squeezing her eyes shut and gripping Quinn's sweater tighter as she got the words out.

Quinn looked down at the girl with a frown on her face, not exactly sure how to help her. Quinn herself had never actually been in a romantic relationship before, never mind become so emotionally invested in that relationship that the ending of it caused her heartache. She'd dealt with heartache before, but never this kind. How was she supposed to help Rachel when she had no experience with what was going on with her.

She observed the girl in her arms, still playing with the soft strands of dark hair. Maybe the girl just wanted comfort. That's all anyone ever wants, right?

She pulled the girl closer to her again. "It'll be okay," she said hoping that statement sounded reassuring.

"Thank you, Quinn," said the small girl with a faint smile. "I'm not sure if you're correct, but thank you for your support. I really appreciate it."

Quinn nodded and they sat there for a few more minutes in silence.

"You have a car?" asked Quinn.

Rachel smiled slightly, "Yes, I quite recently turned sixteen and as my fathers promised me when I was but a young girl they gave me a car as I had requested."

Quinn was gad to see that the girls as acting more like herself now. The excessively long sentence made that fairly obvious.

"We should get you home," said Quinn, shifting as if to stand.

"Can…" Rachel trailed off uncertainly. "Can you let me go to your house please. I don't want my fathers to see me like this. It would upset them a great deal. The last time I went home looking upset they wouldn't let me go back to school for days. Mind you that was when I was ten, but their excessively overprotective attitude remains the same."

Quinn furrowed her brows in thought. She knew they'd been here for around half an hour, and she had gymnastics in about an hour. So, she could let Rachel come to her house, but the girl wouldn't be able to stay long. She also wasn't sure how she felt about letting this girl see her house. There was nothing wrong with the house really, she was just a private person. However, a quick glimpse into those dark depths and she caved. _Damn her doe eyes, _she cursed internally.

"Sure, but you can't stay to long," she standing up, Rachel still cradled in her arms.

"Thank you Quinn," she paused a beat, "but, would you be so kind as to put me down. I'm quite sure that if you walked out the school carrying me like this I would give anyone in the vicinity a lovely flash of my underwear," said Rachel with a slight blush on her face.

Quinn acquiesced and placed Rachel back on her feet gently. Rachel smiled up at the blonde girl, then took her hand leading them out the changing room.

"Do you have a car Quinn?" she asked as they walked down the corridor.

She shook her head.

"Oh, why not?" she said mildly confused. She knew Quinn was a junior and should therefore be old enough to own a car. Maybe her parents couldn't afford one or something.

"No license," she replied.

"Oh," replied Rachel. She was about to ask Quinn why she didn't have a license when she saw the girl moving off towards the bicycle rack at the front of the school. Rachel quickly followed after her and watched as the tall blonde bent down in front of the only bike left on the rack and quickly freed it of the chain holding it there.

"Is this your bicycle?" she asked, gesturing to the grey bicycle Quinn was now holding.

The blonde nodded.

Rachel looked over the bike thoughtfully, "I'm sure we could fit that in my car. While my car is certainly not monstrous in size it isn't hatchback small so I think it's possible for your bike to fit."

"I can take the front wheel off," Quinn said as she wheeled her bike behind Rachel following her as she led the way to her car. Quinn was slightly surprised when they stopped beside a silver Audi A3 near the back of the parking lot. She expected something more outlandish from the girl. Maybe even in a brighter colour, like pink or yellow. Not that she was complaining about the normality of it. She just expected different.

Rachel smiled as she watched Quinn hunch down and loosen the front lever so she could get the wheel off. "Do you like it?" she asked.

"Like what?" asked Quinn as she finished off and pulled the wheel out.

"Oh… I suppose that was a very vague question. My deepest apologies. I wanted to know if you liked my car. My dads bought it for me when I turned sixteen recently. They chose this one because it was one of the cars that made it onto this years safe cars list. So, I wanted to know if you liked it?" Rachel explained.

Quinn straightened up and looked the car over. "It's nice," she paused. "Not very you, but nice."

Rachel was slightly confused. "What do you mean its not very me?"

"Its not yellow or pink," Quinn said opening the back door of the car and sliding her bike onto the backseat. Careful of the way she placed it to avoid damaging the leather interior. When she was finished she turned round to face a blushing Rachel.

"Well, I originally wanted it in yellow, but they don't actually make it that colour for the mainstream market. So, if I wanted it in that colour I would have had to wait for the factory to make it in a different colour and that would have taken extra time. I'm not sure if you know this about me Quinn, but I am not a particularly patient person. Taking that into account I just went with the car that was more readily available," Rachel explained in her usual monologue.

Quinn felt a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips and found she couldn't resist the urge to laugh slightly at the small girl.

Rachel stomped her foot, "It's not funny Quinn Fabray."

_Oh yes, it is, _she thought, but didn't say. Instead she found herself laughing a bit louder, though still remaining on the quiet side, not wanted to hurt her throat again.

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted for several moments before allowing a small smile to slip past. "Alright, it's slightly funny, but that is all I will concede."

Quinn gave her a slight grin, before opening the car door and climbing into the passenger side of the car waiting for Rachel to move round the to the other side of the car and hopping in. Quickly staring her car she backed out of the parking space.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You have a wonderful house. It looks like something out of an advertisement for suburbia," Rachel said to Quinn as they pulled up in front of moderately large house that really did look like it belonged in some kind of suburbia.

Quinn nodded her head in agreement and jumped out the car, opening the back door to fetch her bike. Rachel stayed in the car a few more moments, simply looking at the house before she climbed out the car and watched Quinn sort her bicycle out. Rachel was surprised that she managed to get the front wheel on so fast, but supposed that she must have done so several times before.

Rachel followed behind Quinn as she wheeled her bike up the driveway and used the side door entrance to wheel it into the garage. She found herself strangely excited to see the inside of the mysterious girls house. She did find herself mildly disappointed that when she entered the house it looked like the inside of any other house. It even had that well lived in feeling that you got from a well cared for home. Though, now that she thought it about it that was in fact an oddity in and of itself.

Quinn was a recent transfer. Which means that they would have moved in quite recently. Yet, the house didn't have that new feeling. Everything looked like at had been here for a while. She wondered why.

"This way," she heard Quinn say and realised she'd been standing in the same spot in the entrance for a few minutes. Looking round she spotted the blonde walking up a set of stairs not far from her. Hurrying over she followed the tall blonde up the stairs and into passage in the left hand side. She'd hoped to see some pictures of the blonde when she was younger or even some family pictures. But, it seemed that they hung pictures elsewhere because the hallway was devoid of any personal pictures.

Sighing disappointedly she followed Quinn further down the passageway until they reached the last door on the left and Quinn glanced over her shoulder to check Rachel was still behind her.

She thought she'd lost Rachel somewhere along the way because the brunette was being uncharacteristically quiet and she wondered why. She supposed that she could blame the recent emotional upheaval that Rachel gone through, but it was still slightly disconcerting. She'd only known the small girl for two days, but even she knew that the girl was a talkative person by nature.

Giving a mental shrug she pushed the door open and led them inside her room.

Rachel took a deep breath before following, nervous and excited to see what the inside of her room looked like. She really didn't have that many expectations, she hadn't known Quinn that long. But, what she saw certainly wasn't in anyway what she'd been expecting to see.

There were of course normalities. A double bed pushed into the left hand corner of room directly across from the door she'd just walked through. A window right next to the bed that extended from the top of the bed to several feet past it. A bedside table with a small lamp on it next to the bed. A bookshelf in the right hand corner of the room directly across from the bed. Another door that separated the bookshelf from a desk with a computer right next to that and finally a cupboard next to the door she'd just entered through.

That was of course of you just wanted a basic location description of the largest objects in the room because otherwise there was a whole lot of… lot… going on inside the room. There were a lot of… abnormalities.

Like the fact that the bookshelf was not just a small bookshelf, but an L-shaped bookshelf that want from the floor to the ceiling and seemed to be literally exploding with books if the surrounding area was anything to go by. There were several books lying in front of the bookshelf, stacked up in piles on the desk, open at the foot of Quinn's bed, piled up on the bedside table and others just scattered about the room on the floor. It looked like a library had thrown up all over her room. And from the books she could see it didn't seem like these books were for easy reading.

Then there was the desk in the corner of the room. It was L-shaped, similarly to her bookshelf and exceptionally large. There also wasn't just one computer on it, there were two main towers, with three screens total as well as several other more complicated computer devices Rachel had never seen before. There was also a mess of metal and complicated wires, that had no meaning to Rachel, lying next to the computers with several technical drawings next to them.

If that wasn't odd enough there was a random metal bar handing horizontally from Quinn's ceiling that she was sure served absolutely no purpose. It was to high for her to reach though she was sure Quinn could reach it if she stood in her toes and stretched. Still, she wondered what business that metal bar had being in the ceiling. It was odd.

Suddenly she realised that she'd once again become caught up in observing her new surroundings and had been standing there for several minutes. Quinn had taken this time to drop her bag near her cupboard and relax on her bed. Reading one of the textbooks that had been previously been lying there.

Feeling sudden fatigue from her recent crying fit Rachel decided not to ask Quinn about the oddness of her room. That didn't mean she wouldn't ask eventually. She just wouldn't ask right now. Wondering over she took the liberty of plopping down next to Quinn and just lying there on top of her grey duvet.

"That looks like a really complicated book," she mumbled sleepily from her spot next to Quinn. Surely the girl wouldn't mind if she took a nap. It had been a rough day.

"It's pretty simple," Quinn said with a shrug not looking away from her book.

Rachel looked at the back through sleepy eyes. "_Microbial Biotechnology, Fundamentals of Applied Microbiology, 2nd Edition by Alexander N. Glazer and Hiroshi Nikaido,_" she read out tiredly. "That sounds complicated to me."

"Not really," Quinn replied. She'd never found this sort of thing difficult, but even so this book wasn't on the level of what she did find difficult.

"Oh," said Rachel, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stay awake.

"You okay?" Quinn said noticing that Rachel was once again being awfully quiet.

"Yes, I'm fine. Today has just been quite emotionally exhausting you know. Such emotional upheaval can put strain on the body and mind which usually results in tiredness which is basically a summary of how I'm feeling now. I just want to sleep," she looked up at Quinn with big brown eyes. "Do you mind if I take a nap Quinn?"

She wanted to say no, she really did because she had to leave for gymnastics in about half an hour. But, those eyes. Why'd she have to look her with those eyes. This was a weakness she would have to find a way to overcome. It was clearly becoming detrimental to her functional ability.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Sure."

"Thank you, Quinn. You've been most gracious and helpful with me today and I really appreciate it," she said sleepily. Eyes drifting closed against her will.

"No problem," Quinn mumbled as she watch Rachel slowly drift to sleep. Sighing she picked up her textbook again and got back to reading.

I few minutes later she noticed Rachel shifting round on the bed and wondered if the girl was going to wake up. That theory was disproved when - with closed eyes - Rachel rolled over onto her side and latched herself onto the side of Quinn's body. Shifting around a bit more the ended up almost completely on top of Quinn, head resting on Quinn's shoulder.

Quinn blinked several times.

Then felt a slight blush rush to her cheeks though she wasn't sure why. Sure, she remembered Puck's speech about attraction, but he'd never mentioned anything about this and so she was confused as to why the body of a sleeping Rachel against her own made her blush. It shouldn't have. It also shouldn't have set her mind thinking about everything Puck had mentioned.

It made her feel decidedly… odd.

For some unfathomable reason she couldn't help, but think that it was going to be a long wait until gymnastics started.

A long, long wait.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

When she finally did have to leave she didn't have to heart wake Rachel and decided to leave the girl there until she got back. She'd just looked so adorable and weirdly sexy lying there sprawled out on her bed. The sexy thought had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that because the girl was wearing a skirt she'd seen a glimpse of silky black lingerie.

Absolutely nothing.

Arriving outside the gym on her bicycle she quickly hurried inside for her next session.

Yes, it would be tortuous, but it would still be a hell of a lot more fun then the new morning sessions. At least they got to work on skills today.

The gym didn't seem to be that busy today and Quinn was grateful. There was a small group of beginners being taught by one of the other coaches. So, it was a pretty quiet day which was always what Quinn preferred. Otherwise things could sometimes get too much noisy and congested side for her liking.

"Quinn!" she heard Coach Gerson shout from across the gym. What confused her was the area her coach was standing in. That definitely wasn't normal.

Dropping her bag near the entrance Quinn quickly hurried over. No need to get her Coach mad at her. The Russian lady was crazy enough as it was. Creating greater problems in her physique could have detrimental effects to all involved.

"Coach," Quinn greeted when she reached her, looking at the surrounding equipment. This was the area where most of the men's equipment was located, which was why she was confused as to why she was here.

"Over the next week, month, months or even year we will be working on your abilities on the Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Parallel Bars and High Bar," she said pointing at each of the different apparatuses as she did so.

Quinn stared in disbelief, "Coach, those are only used in the men's events."

Sure she knew the basics of each piece of equipment and could perform very basic tricks on each, but she couldn't do much more. It was part of her learning to have an understanding of each apparatus and the basic moves on each. But, she'd never had to learn the more difficult tricks. She'd never had to be good enough on those apparatuses because they weren't used in the women's competition.

"That shouldn't matter, Fabray!" said her coach who looked like she might be building to a rant. "Whether you are a man or a woman I want you to be able to compete on par with the men who use the apparatuses at a professional level. Until you can do so we will only be practicing on the women's equipment once a week to maintain you skills. We will even continue doing this for longer then a year if you can't get to that level of performance. I expect the best from my personally trained athletes, Quinn! You have great potential, but if you want to be the best you can be the you will follow my instructions to the letter! Understood!"

_B-b-but, but, _her mind repeated pathetically. Only being able to practice on the Uneven Bars once a week would be absolute torture. That was her absolute favourite event, and it would probably be for a whole year too. While she did trust in her skills as a gymnast there was a reason those were male only events. Women generally did not have the raw strength, power and endurance to perform them at a professional level.

"Do you understand, FABRAY!" shouted her coach.

Quinn nodded her head vigorously. While she might think her coach was a crazy senile old bat, she did have faith in the woman. She had made olympic champions. She had lead others to greatness. She herself had once been great. So, Quinn would trust her.

She just hoped there was a method to her madness.

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Get yourself on those rings!"

Quinn sighed, "Yes, Coach."

She still voted skill days better then fitness days.

Even with the latest rules.

Skilled torture was still better then just plain torture.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

As soon as Quinn entered the house Charlotte was right up in her face.

"Quinn, why on earth do you have a girl sleeping on the bed in your room?" she asked hands on her hips.

"Rachel, from glee," she said stepping round Charlotte and heading up the staircase.

"You're in glee?" Charlotte exclaimed in surprise.

Quinn nodded.

"But, Quinn, I've heard that glee is like social suicide at McKinley. Like if you join it your reputation will never be the same again. Unless your involved in something like football or cheerleading then glee is at the bottom of the food chain! It can destroy you!"

Quinn shrugged.

"Yes, I know, Quinn. You don't really care bout that kind of thing, but it's still something you need to be aware of. They're like, lower then the mathletes!"

Quinn looked over her shoulder and raised a brow.

"Yes Quinn, McKinley does have a mathletes team and I'm sure you'd enjoy it, but that is not the point of this discussion. You're reputation is! Have you seen the slushies they throw in peoples faces Quinn. It's insane. Completely insane. I don't want that to happen to you, Quinn," Charlotte said now following Quinn down the passageway.

"I'll be fine, Char," Quinn said.

"You don't know that, Quinn! What happens if-"

"I beat up a footballer," Quinn said as she opened the door to her room.

"You what?" exclaimed Charlotte causing the brunette on the bed to stir slightly.

"I beat up a footballer," Quinn repeated.

"How did I not know that…" Charlotte trailed off. "Which one?"

Quinn's mind immediately flashed to a different moment where she recalled one of the football players calling out his name.

"Karofsky," Quinn said, throwing her bad next to her cupboard.

"Dave Karofsky, really?" Charlotte said in disbelief.

"Yes."

"How come I didn't know?" asked Charlotte.

"You often miss rumours," Quinn pointed out.

"I do not!" she said defensively.

Quinn gave her a deadpan look.

Charlotte crossed her arms petulantly.

Quinn raised a brow.

"Oh come on, that was one time!" Charlotte exclaimed defensively.

"Your but has the bite mark to prove it," she said with a shrug.

"Don't go there, Quinn. Just don't go there," she said.

Quinn shrugged and plopped down on the bed forgetting for a moment that Rachel was there. The girl woke with a start. She blinked blearily as she took in the scene in front of her, a confused frown finding its way into her face.

"Quinn, there are two of you?" she said looking between the two girls. "Please tell me I'm not going crazy," she whimpered.

"You didn't even tell them did you?" Charlotte said with a shake of her head.

"It didn't come up," Quinn replied with a shrug.

"Don't worry, Rachel is it?" Rachel nodded. "Your sanity is safe for now. We're twins, my name is Charlotte," she introduced holding out her hand for a shake.

Realising that the girl in front of her was wearing a cheerios uniform Rachel found herself decidedly hesitant, but pushing past that she reached out a hand and shook the other girls finding it slightly softer then Quinn's more calloused palms.

"Pleasure to meet you, my name's Rachel," she said with a bright smile, but deciding it would still be best to keep Quinn's body between her's and Charlotte's. Suddenly a memory clicked in her mind. "So, that's why I saw two Quinns the other day when I was departing from school. I thought it was simply the stress causing me to hallucinate."

"Not to worry, you're completely sane," said Charlotte. "Though I do wonder how you could mistake me for this brute. We look nothing alike."

"Well, that statement seems to completely contradict itself. You've just previously stated your twins, identical ones at that. So, you should look exactly the same, but for a few minor differences that often emerge between identical twins during adolescence," said Rachel, returning to more familiar speech patterns.

"But, those small differences make a huge difference in the way we look. Not to mention the fact that Quinn normally dresses like a charity case," Charlotte said with a smirk.

"I'm taller," replied Quinn.

"My boobs are bigger," said Charlotte with a smirk. _Oh yes, I've finally got Quinn to play her card first, _she thought with a smirk.

"My eyes are greener."

Charlotte pouted, "Only a tiny bit and anyway, my hair is longer."

"By choice," Quinn pointed out.

"Who cares! It's still a point," Charlotte argued.

"I weigh less," said Quinn with a smirk.

Charlotte gasped, "Only because you have like no body fat, like absolutely nothing. It's freaking freaky."

"Freaking freaky?" Quinn said with a raised brow.

"Yes," said Charlotte with a petulant pout, "freaking freaky."

"Amazing alliteration," Quinn said with cheeky grin.

Charlotte threw her hands up in exasperation and performed a perfect diva storm out. Rachel couldn't help, but wonder if that was what people saw when when she stormed out. It wasn't nearly as impressive as she thought it was.

Chuckling slightly she turned to face Rachel who'd been peering over her shoulder for the duration of the conversation.

"You have a good nap?" she asked, still in a playful mood.

Rachel refused to back down, but she couldn't prevent the blush that crawled up her cheeks. "Yes, I found that I enjoyed it to an acceptable level."

Quinn grinned slightly.

"Why are you in different clothing?" asked Rachel with a slight frown.

"I went out," replied Quinn, not elaborating.

"Out? Oh my! What time is it?" she asked eyes wide.

Glancing at the clock next to her bed Quinn turned back to Rachel, "Quarter past eight."

"Quarter past eight!" Rachel shouted. "Quinn how could you let me sleep that long! My fathers are going to be going insane with worry! I need to go right now!"

Rachel jumped out of and quickly headed down out Quinn's room and down the stairs.

Sighing Quinn pushed away the different ache in her muscles and followed Rachel out the room. She knew it was only proper curtsy to show any guest out. That was something her parents had drilled into her head.

With long strides she caught up with the diva just in time for them to be spotted by her mother.

"Hello, Quinn," her mother greeted her with a smile and both girls froze mid-step. "And who's this?"

"Mom, this is Rachel Berry," Quinn said introducing the smaller girl who stood slightly behind her shoulder.

Judy raised an eyebrow that seemed eerily similar to Quinn's own action. Quinn had never introduced any friends to her before. She took in the small dark haired girl standing behind her daughter. Judy smiled. She hoped this was a good thing.

"Judy Fabray," she introduced herself, holding out a hand for Rachel to shake.

The girl moved out from behind the tall blonde and accepted Judy's handshake with a bright smile, "Rachel Berry, I'm one of Quinn's friends from glee."

"You joined glee club," Judy asked Quinn in surprise. She was sure that being in the glee club required signing and Quinn was rather… limited… since the incident.

Quinn nodded.

"Yes," Rachel glanced at the front door hesitantly. She really would prefer to make a good impression on Quinn's mother, but her fathers would surely be worrying about her at this point. "Apparently Quinn can play the piano and dance. You couldn't perhaps tell me if she was telling the truth could you."

Judy was surprised that Quinn had even offered that much information about herself. Quinn had always been a private person. She smiled at Rachel. "Yes, she's quite accomplished on the piano and her father always used to praise her and her sister's dancing."

Were Rachel paying more attention she might have noticed something odd about that sentence, but she was too worried about her fathers worrying about her. Finally giving in she gave Judy an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Fabray, but I really must be going. My fathers will really be worrying about where I am," explained Rachel though she was surprised that other then raising her eyebrows slightly Mrs. Fabray made no comment on the reference to having two fathers.

"It's quite alright darling. You don't want to worry your parents," she said giving Rachel a final smile before heading back towards the kitchen.

Rachel turned to face Quinn and gave her a bright smile before wrapping her arms round the taller girl in a hug.

"Thank you for helping me today, Quinn," she said, voice muffled in the fabric of the girls shirt.

"No problem," she replied as the smaller of the two pulled back.

Moving away Rachel smiled at her before quickly exiting the house and heading towards her car. Looking up as she opened her car door she spotted Quinn gazing at her through the window and gave a quick wave before climbing in and driving off.

As she watched the taillights of the car disappear she pushed herself away from the wall and headed towards the kitchen. She was perpetually hungry after all.

Judy turned round from what she was cooking and give Quinn a smile. "She seems like a nice girl," the woman said with a smile.

"Yeah," Quinn agreed with a nod.

"I'm glad you're making friends. Especially after… you know, that. You've been even more closed off then before," she said with a faint smile wiping away the small tear that never failed to emerge to fall when she thought about the incident.

"Friends," Quinn mumbled looking down at her hands. Yes, she supposed that after today she could call Rachel Berry her friend.

It was a nice feeling.

Having a friend.

She liked it.

**Author's Note: **And that is that my little fans. Hoping you liked it and the progress in their relationship didn't seem outside the realm of possibility.

Thank you for reading and please review!

Review…

Review…

Review…

I'm slowly entering your mind and making it impossible for you to resist the urge.

Sigh… let it not be said that I didn't try. It just seems that mind control is out of my range of capabilities. The aliens will be so bummed with me. They had such high hopes.

Oh well, I'm out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee. Let us take a moment of silence to mourn this fact… and moving on.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews people and sorry for the angst and what not. But, I was watching the episode again so that I could write the story better. In the actual show when Finn breaks up with her she leaves crying. Taking into account Rachel's dramatic nature and 'slight' obsession with Finn felt it appropriate that she continue by crying in the bathroom. Well, before she gets pissed at him at least.

Sorry this chapter took so long to post, but I was on holiday out of the country and it was hard to find time to write anything. Even when I did find time I couldn't think of how I should start the chapter. Serious writer's bloke. Then I got distracted by the olympics and well… you know the rest.

Anyway, enough about me. On with the story!

'Fishing' - Normal

_**'**_**Fishing**_**' - **_Other (Just incase something else comes up.)

_'Fishing'_ - Thoughts/Songs/Dreams/Another Language

**Previously:**

"I'm glad you're making friends. Especially after… you know, that. You've been even more closed off then before," she said with a faint smile wiping away the small tear that never failed to emerge to fall when she thought about the incident.

"Friends," Quinn mumbled looking down at her hands. Yes, she supposed that after today she could call Rachel Berry her friend.

It was a nice feeling.

Having a friend.

She liked it.

**Chapter 4:**

_No! _Quinn thought as her hands missed the bar. Fingertips brushing passed it as she fell to the floor with a loud smack that seemed to reverberate throughout the gym. She groaned from where she lay. Her skin still stinging from the slap against the plastic of the mat.

It hurt.

It hurt like hell.

"Fabray!" her coach shouted as she forced herself to her hands and knees, shaking her head in despair. She felt like she was never going to get the skill set right. What made it worse was that this was now the only day of the week that she was able to practice her favourite event, Uneven Bars. The fact that she couldn't get the new move her coach had recently taught her correct, was… irritating… and painful.

Definitely painful.

She sighed and got to her feet. Turning round to face her irate coach.

"Yes, Coach," she mumbled.

"Today is a Saturday, Fabray! SATURDAY! The only day of the week that I am allowed to train you for a constant eight hour period. By failing to get this skill right you are not only wasting your time! More importantly, you are wasting MINE! I don't like to waste, Fabray. It goes against everything I stand for. We have and hour left of practice! Exactly one hour! This move better have been done by then. If it isn't I will be extending your morning practices by an hour until you perform it adequately. Understood!" she said finishing her rant.

Silence reigned throughout the gym.

Dead silence.

A cellphone rang.

"Whose phone is that!" she yelled furiously. Quinn looked around the gym at some of the other girls, waiting for them to answer the question. Then she realised that she recognised the ring. She groaned.

"It's mine coach," Quinn muttered, silently cursing whoever had decided that now would be a good time to call her.

Her coach glared at her. If looks could kill Quinn would be burning at a stake. Flames licking at her skin. Melting her flesh. Devouring her insides with heat set on ending her life.

She shivered.

That seemed way to realistic for comfort.

She looked back up at her coach's red face and winced. This was going to be bad.

The woman exploded.

"ANSWER IT _EBLAN!" _she yelled. Falling into her native language at the end, though at least she'd stopped there. Quinn had been on the receiving end of some of her more explicit swearing tangents. Even though she was sure that none of the younger children had a clue about what the woman was saying she still felt the urge to cover their ears. Sometimes she felt the urge to cover her own ears. Her coach had a disturbingly large swearing vocabulary when pushed over the edge.

Quinn didn't even bother nodding and instead sprinted straight to her bag, intent on finding her phone. It would have been a lot easier if the thing weren't so damn elusive, but it seemed to evade her grasp at every turn. She could feel the heat of her coach's glare increasing with each second that passed. The ringing echoing round the gym.

Finally her hand brushed against the smooth screen and she quickly grasped the phone, yanking it out of her disorganised bag.

"Hello," she whispered as she answered the phone, trying futilely to keep everyone from hearing the conversation.

"Hi Quinn, this is Rachel Berry," replied the person on the other end.

_Pretty voice, _she thought before she could stop herself.

She groaned.

Now there was no way she could be mad at the person on the other end. Being mad at Rachel was like being mad at a little kitten sleeping peacefully on your bed. An impossibility. Not going to happen. Why did it have to be her? Why not her sister? She could be mad at her sister. Actually the better question was…

"How'd you get my number?" she whispered into the phone.

"Oh, I called the school and asked Principal Figgins for the number. Apparently it's actually forbidden for them to give out the personal information of the students at the school. According to him that information is confidential, but you should be aware that he really doesn't do well under pressure… or threats for that matter. In fact all I had to do was mention my connections, predominantly in the ACLU and he was like putty in my hands. I'm not sure how I feel about him as our principal. If he's so willing to give away personal information like that, then what else is going on in our school that he is either unaware of or is being threatened to ignore. It just doesn't seem right, does it, Quinn?" she asked. Finishing off her long speech with a question.

Quinn blinked several times.

That was a lot of really fast delivered information. Usually she would have no problem following Rachel's speech patterns, but now it was a different story. As she'd discovered only seconds ago it was a lot harder to follow what Rachel was saying when her coach was glaring at her. In fact when she made the mistake of looking her in the eyes she thought just the power of her coach's glare would make her explode into little itty bitty Quinn flavoured meat chunks.

"Rachel," Quinn said after she managed to get herself together. "Can I call you back?"

"Oh…" Rachel mumbled despondently. It gave Quinn a flash of that lonely girl crying in the bathroom and she immediately felt guilty. "Well I suppose you must have better things to do. It is the weekend after all and-"

"No," Quinn interrupted. "I want to talk Rachel, but I'm busy."

"So, you wouldn't mind talking to me. I've heard that I can be on the bad side of annoying occasionally," she said and Quinn could hear the faint smile in her voice.

"An hour and a half," Quinn said.

"Pardon?" asked Rachel feeling puzzled.

"I'll call you in-"

"An hour and a half," finished Rachel nodding her head in understanding though Quinn couldn't see it.

"Bye," Quinn said, glancing over at her still glaring coach.

"Bye Quinn," Rachel said smiling before ending the call.

Quinn stared at the screen for several seconds before her coach's scream woke her from her daydream.

"Get over here Fabray! Just for that phone call I'll adding another half hour to your afternoon training sessions for three weeks and I will still be extending your morning practices by an hour unless you get this move right! Got it?!" she yelled as Quinn dropped her phone and headed over.

"Got it, coach," Quinn mumbled as she fiddled with the edge of her shirt.

Her coach looked up and glared at the rest of the people in the gym. "What are you people staring at! Go on! Get back to work!" she shouted.

The gym immediately sprung back to life and was filled with noise from the rest of the students.

"Come on Quinn, get back on it," she said gesturing towards the bars.

Quinn nodded. Quickly got some more chalk for her hands and headed back to the bars.

She needed to get this move down.

She wasn't sure her body could survive getting up any earlier in the morning.

* * *

She actually did manage to get the move right at the end of it all, but, her coach said she was going to extend her morning practice for three weeks anyway. Apparently if you only manage to complete it in the dying seconds of practice it doesn't count. She'd wasted time and she would have to make up for it. Quinn thought her coach's reasoning sucked.

In fact she would have been pissed at her coach, but by the end of practice she was so bruised from falling repeatedly that it even over powered the ache of her muscles. Either that or it simple became one with her muscle ache and formed a whole new ache that made her walk with a shuffle reminiscent of the old lady she'd passed on her way to the gym.

It was painful.

After she'd finished getting dressed in her usual baggy clothes she pulled out her phone and went to her recent calls list. Finding Rachel's number right at the top she quickly rang it. After a few rings the energetic girl answered it with her usual enthusiasm.

"Hi Quinn," she answered and Quinn could almost feel her smiling brightly over the phone.

"Hi Rachel," she replied with a smile. "Sorry about earlier."

"That's perfectly acceptable Quinn. I understand that not everyone finds themselves free to talk all the time," said Rachel.

"Yeah," Quinn mumbled quietly. "Anyway, why'd you call?"

The was a brief pause.

"Oh… you mean earlier. Right, well I was wondering if you would like to join me for a sleepover tonight. I understand that we haven't known each other really long, but I feel like we have a really good connection going on. Taking that into account I feel that the next step in our platonic relationship would be to have a sleepover. I believe it would be a good way to get to know each other better," Rachel said confidently, though Quinn could detect a hint of nervousness in her voice as she neared the end of her sleepover proposal.

Quinn thought about it. Not that there was much to think about in terms of her schedule. It's not as if she had anything better to do, she just wasn't sure about what they would be doing at this sleepover. It's not as if she'd ever been to one before. Well, perhaps as a very young child before changing schools, but she was sure it was a completely different sort of event.

"What would we do at a sleepover?" she asked.

Rachel took this as a positive response and smiled, though Quinn couldn't see it.

"Well, I don't believe there is generally too much involved. Usually it entails simply watching movies late into the night. Eating dinner and then eating other forms of junk food to sustain yourself late into the night. After that people usually go to sleep. If the number of people there aren't that many then usually a shower is involved," Rachel said happily.

Quinn blinked.

"We shower together?" she asked. Showering with Rachel. Getting to see her naked. Rachel. Naked. Her brain experience a brief short circuiting before rebooting into overdrive. Rachel… naked.

She shook her head.

_Don't go there Quinn, _she reprimanded herself. _If you do you'll never leave._

She blamed Puck and his stupid speech.

Ever since then things had been slightly more… distracting.

"Not together Quinn!" Rachel shouted, feeling flustered. She was sure she hadn't implied that they would shower together, but then again… she often missed the double implication her words could have. Maybe she did and she just wasn't aware of it. "No, Quinn. I mean that when you are there you would have the opportunity to use the shower. Especially since it is only you and me rather then there being a whole crowd of people. That would completely throw of the whole idea if it were so."

"Oh…" said Quinn feeling slightly disappointed. But, she would still get to be around Rachel for a whole night, just the two of them. Surely there would be cuddling involved. Besides Rachel seemed like a cuddly person, at least she did when she was at Quinn's house the other day. "Sure Rachel, I'll come."

"You will!" Rachel exclaimed. "That is absolutely fantastic, Quinn! I can't wait for tonight to come! I expect you to arrive promptly at seven o'clock from which point we will partake in the sleepover… Oh Quinn! It's just wonderful! I really am looking forward to tonight!"

"Yeah," Quinn mumbled in agreement.

"Anyway, I'll see you tonight, Quinn! Don't forget to bring some pyjamas to change into for when we go to sleep. Goodbye!"

"Bye," the blonde agreed as Rachel then ended the call.

She stared at the phone screen for a couple more seconds before shrugging and chucking it back into her bag. She still had about two and a half hours until she had to go over to Rachel's so there really wasn't any rush.

Quickly heading over to her bike she checked her bag was secure before unchaining her bike and riding home. Which was a painful experience - as always. She would have been upset with her mom for making her suffer through the extra exercise her body really didn't need everyday, but she knew she was busy. With the amount of work she did her mother often came home exhausted. Even then she still put in the effort to make them all a nice family dinner.

She knew it took a lot out of her. Especially considering it hadn't been like that for her before the accident. Things had been harder for them since then, though harder on her mother more then anyone else. She didn't like to let it show, but Quinn heard her sometimes. Crying at night. It hurt to know that there was nothing she could do to make it better.

She sighed.

Lost in her thoughts Quinn was caught completely unawares when a small dark blur shot out in front of her, freezing at the sight of her barrelling towards it. In her surprise Quinn grabbed hold of the wrong brake and sent herself flying headfirst over her handlebars. What would have been astounding to anyone watching was that she did a front flip over her handlebars and managed to land on her feet. Thankful for the instincts her years of gymnastics had provided.

Cursing the dark blob under her breath she spun round to get a good look at the cause of her somersault. Even if she'd managed to land on her feet it had still been very dangerous and she was lucky she hadn't managed to injure herself. Injuries could set your training back months. Going without training for even a week could put delays on improvement. But, an injury that lasted a month could really mess you up.

Unfortunately for Quinn she was a sucker for cute things.

Her infatuation with Rachel made that obvious enough.

So, one look at her victim and all the anger drained from her body. Sure she wanted to be mad, but the thing was just so tiny, cute and fluffy that she couldn't find it in herself to stay angry. Besides, she wasn't an angry person by nature - that was Santana's thing it seemed - and maintaining any sort of anger was hard enough without adding in the cuteness factor. It had her heart melting.

Sighing at her own pathetic excuse for a temper she headed back towards her fallen bike and the unmoving fluffy ball.

Cautiously she poked it with her toe just incase the thing was a vicious rabid insane baby racoon, because it wasn't completely out of the question. When it didn't jump up and attack her. She nudged it again, this time unrolling the creature slightly so she could actually see what it was. It seemed to stir slightly at the movement, but didn't wake. Pushing it again she managed to uncurl the grey blob so that she got a good view of the little thing.

It was a kitten. A tiny little boy kitten if what she could see was correct. Hardly even the length of her hand when completely stretched out. He couldn't have been big enough to be off his weaning faze and if he was then he was definitely undersized. Which meant under fed.

Bending down closer she touched him carefully, noting that his fur was slightly matted. Pushing that thought away she touched him gently. Prodding around to see if she could find any injuries though he seemed completely fine. Something her check over agreed with. He was completely free of any noticeable injury though he seemed dreadfully underfed.

She concluded that the creature probably passed out from a combination of hunger, exhaustion and the fright she'd been kind enough to provide.

Which meant she couldn't just leave the thing here. It was half dead for heaven's sake. Plus, it was just so cute. She couldn't leave such cuteness all alone to die. It was simply an offence to nature.

That left her with only one choice - in her cuteness skewered opinion.

She had to take it home.

She just had to.

Reaching down she gently scooped up the small animal, cradling the small creature in her hands before sliding it into the front pocket of her hoodie. The only safe place she could think of to keep it.

She just hoped her mom agreed.

That stopped her for a moment.

Well… she didn't have to tell her straight away. She could warm her up to the idea first.

Right?

* * *

She'd stopped by at the closest pet store to get some cat shampoo because she was pretty sure washing him in the shampoo she used could irritate its skin. Then she decided that she may as well get everything she needed. So, making sure not to disturb the little creature in her hoodie she checked round the shop and quickly grabbed some cat food - though she was sure she could get that at the supermarket anyway - a litter box, the litter to go in it and a collar. She wasn't entirely sure what else to get him.

It was only when she got home that a fundamentally important question popped into her head. What was she supposed to do with the kitten when she went to Rachel's house? She couldn't just leave it here by itself in a new environment. It might leave and get badly hurt… or get caught by her mother and get her trouble.

_Maybe I can take him with? _she thought. Though she was quite sure that wasn't the correct protocol in regards to sleepovers.

_But, I could call and check, _she mentally pointed out.

Nodding to herself Quinn dug through her bag until she found her phone. Checking her recent calls list she reminded herself to add Rachel to her contacts list before she dialled the number.

After three rings the phone was answered with a chirpy, "Hello, Quinn!"

"Hey," Quinn replied as she stroked the matted fur of the knocked out kitten on her bed.

"Is there any particular reason that you've decided to call Quinn. I'm quite sure I was specific enough about the details of the sleepover to not confuse you. Not that I don't appreciate the call, I'm just baffled about the reason why," said Rachel.

"I found a kitten on the side of the road," she replied.

"Oh…" trailed of a quite surprised Rachel. "Is it alright? I mean the way you said that gave me the impression that the kitten was either dead or injured."

"No, it's fine. Just passed out," there was a brief pause. "I took it home with me."

"That's very kind of you Quinn, but are you aware of the kinds a diseases an unknown animal can bring into the house? Never mind the large quantity of fleas that will be extremely difficult to ever fully remove from your house unless you're willing to call an exterminator. It could cause a lot of problems for you."

"I'm going to bath it now," Quinn replied.

"That's good Quinn. But, while I do find that fact that you've decided to adopt this stranded kitten I would like to know why you've called me to tell me about it. Not that I don't feel a certain happiness about being the person you've called to tell this to I would still like to know why," Rachel explained.

She took a deep breath before she asked, "Can I bring it with to the sleepover?"

"Well… Quinn I…" Rachel said not sure what to say.

"It'll be clean. I don't want to leave it alone for its first day," Quinn explained wincing slightly as she felt the slight pang in her throat. She'd spoken more then she usually would today. Phone calls always taxed her voice. She couldn't just use facial expressions and gestures to explain herself.

Rachel sighed, "Alright Quinn. You should just be glad that no one in my family is allergic to cats. That could've caused problems."

"Thank you," Quinn said with a smile on her face.

"You're welcome, Quinn," Rachel said. Her voice noticeably softening from its usual business like tone.

"See you tonight," she said.

"Yes," Rachel said after clearing her throat. "I expect you to be prompt Quinn. I'm not one to appreciate people's beliefs that being late makes them appear more 'cool' in the eyes of their peers."

_And she's back, _thought Quinn with an indulgent smile Rachel couldn't see.

"Bye," Quinn said.

"Goodbye, Quinn," Rachel replied before she pressed red phone and cut the call.

Quinn threw her phone on the bed and looked down at the little thing curled up against her side. _Time to clean you up, _she thought.

Heading off to the basin in the bathroom she quickly ran some luke warm water into it before looking at the cat.

How on earth was she supposed to do this?

While she was quite sure the animal would be putting up more of a fight if it was awake it would also be easier to wash without accidentally drowning it.

Luckily her answer came when the kitten in her arms stirred and blinked up at her sleepily. His eyes a green colour that were set slanted toward the outer edge of the his ears. Which might have meant there was Siamese cat in his linage. They didn't appear to see much and she presumed he was still developing his sight and hearing which started around two weeks after birth.

Suddenly she felt eternally great full she'd gone through her 'I want to be a vet!' stage and had read any sort animal biology books she could get her hands on. It would have been a lot harder to figure the cat out if she hadn't.

She noticed him focusing on her eyes and presumed it was because greens and purples were more prominent to cats.

She'd expected the little thing to freak out and try to run away, but he did noting of the sort which she was quite sure went complete against the natural instincts a cat should have. Maybe he had some sort of head injury she'd missed. She felt around a bit, but there didn't seem to be any sort of problems. Maybe he was younger then she thought. It didn't seem as if his eyes had been open for very long. It wouldn't be out of the question then for it to simply look for any sort of warmth and comfort.

Shrugging slightly she slowly lowered the kitten into the water expecting some sort of hysterics at being put in the stuff, but he didn't seem to react at all.

Just sat there on his haunches blinking up at her.

Perhaps it was because the water wasn't nearly deep enough to drown him. Still, any other cat would have had some sort of reaction to the water.

Brushing it off as just another form of oddness in her life she began washing the kitten off, which finally got some sort of reaction out of him. He tried to suck on the skin of hands when she got near his head. It was a probable indicator that he was still supposed to be weaning. She frowned as she continued. Adding shampoo to the mix when she felt she'd soaked his fur enough.

When she finished she let the dirty water out and got a towel to dry him off. He responded by rubbing himself slightly against the soft material. Quinn was glad to see he seemed to be showing more awareness then he was earlier.

Now that she had him cleaned up she noticed his fur was a few shades lighter then the dark grey it had been earlier. Turning into a slightly more smokey grey. No patches of colour marring the monochromatic shade.

She stood back up to her full height and looked down at the cat perched on the toilet seat.

After several moments of staring and blinking.

Blinking and more staring he yawned up at her, then moved forward slightly to scratch at the material of her jeans.

"Well?" she asked. Not entirely sure what to do now. She'd never had pet despite her earlier veterinary aspirations.

He looked up at her then head butted her leg. Rubbing himself against her pant leg.

Quinn looked down for several more moments before sighing and deciding it was best to pick him up again.

She scooped him for a few seconds before depositing him down on her bed. Joining him a moment later with _University Physics with Modern Physics with Modern Physics with Mastering Physics (12th Edition)__by Young and Freedman _a pencil in her hand to make notes in the margins. A habit she found too useful to break.

A few pages in she felt a slight disturbance to her left. Looking away from her book she glanced at the grey fur ball.

The clear cause for her disturbance.

He continued to move along - ignorant of her gaze - until he finally reached his destination. The joining of her neck and shoulder. Shifting round slightly he curled up into a little ball and promptly fell asleep. A purr rumbling through his body.

Unable to actually get a good look at him from the odd angle she gave up trying and went back to her book.

She was sure without even looking that he was too cute to disturb.

* * *

Quinn had only raised her hand to knock on the door before it swung open. A beaming Rachel Berry almost blinding her with the brightness of her smile.

"Hello, Quinn," she said with a wave.

"Hey," Quinn mumbled before her wrist was grabbed and she was yanked into the house. The door slamming shut behind her.

Rachel then proceeded to wrap her in a tight hug, trapping her arms at her sides. Despite the suddenness of the motion Quinn found herself revelling being in full body contact with the small girl. At least until a small mewing noise broke the contact.

"Oh! Is that the kitten?" asked Rachel looking Quinn up and down in search of the noise. She frowned. "Quinn, I'm quite sure I heard the sound of a kitten and you said you were going to bring it. So where on earth is it?"

In response Quinn slipped her hand into the front pocket of her hoodie and pulled out the small creature.

"Quinn!" Rachel practically squealed. "He's so adorable! It is a boy right?"

Quinn nodded.

"What's his name?" she asked.

Quinn froze. _I'm an idiot. _

"He… uh… doesn't have one," Quinn said sheepishly.

Rachel blinked several times. For once seemingly speechless. "Are being serious? You haven't even given him a name. Quinn… I- well I'm simply speechless and even I'm willing to admit that is something of a rare occasion. I am well aware of the fact that my speech patterns are considered verbose."

"I've never had to name something before," Quinn explained.

"I haven't had the fortune or misfortune, depending on your point of view, of owning and naming a pet. But, even I am aware of the fact that naming an animal is of particular importance," Rachel said.

"Can you help me?" she asked.

"Well I… I would be honoured Quinn," Rachel said with a smile. "Can I hold him?" she asked after a moments pause.

Quinn shrugged and handed him over. Savouring the brief moment when Rachel's hands brushed against her own.

"Thanks," Rachel said. Lifting him from her hands with a smile. Then pulling him close against her chest. Quinn felt an odd sort of jealousy for the cat that Rachel held so close. She never thought she'd be in a situation where she would be jealous of a cat.

"Well, come on then. Let's go to the living room. I've set up a wide range of movies for us to choose from as well as several take out menus from which you can order from. A lot of them are for places that cater towards a more vegan lifestyle, but they also have lots of other choices," she said as she led the way through. Well, at least she started to. She ended up pausing mid-step and turning back round. "Actually, I should probably show you where to put your bag down first. I don't want you to have to lug that round with you everywhere and putting it down in the living room will just take up space." She walked back around Quinn and up the staircase. "Follow me."

Raising a brow Quinn couldn't stop the small smile that flitted across her face as she followed the girl.

There was just something about her that made Quinn feel… happier, when she was close.

She just…

Quinn looked up at her as she walked up the stairs.

She just… lit up the room.

* * *

**Author's Note: **For some reason when I was writing Rachel's first phone conversation I kept hearing her speak with an English accent in my head. No idea why! Talk about distracting.

Anyway, next time we get to see the sleepover and get a little more insight into Quinn's past or at least that little scar. Sorry not much happened this time, but I felt this chapter was necessary to build the story and get to the next one.

Hope you liked it!

Peace Out,

GeekySoundCat


End file.
